Till Eternity
by Ayakaishi Fei
Summary: AU. Ken is the prototype for a new generation of robots. Daisuke is a thief. When the bumbling Dai accidentally activates Kens program heartache inevitably follows, because Daisuke after all, is only human. And Ken isn't. **Complete**
1. Part One

Title: Till Eternity  
  
Author: FireDemon  
  
Email: Ken_Dai_Love@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: R  
  
Warnings: This fic contains YAOI, meaning two hot guys going down on each other, if that disturbs you; well you've been warned. There's a little shoujo-ai (girl love) that I wasn't expecting to write! It gets a little limey in parts, but that's about as descriptive as it's gonna get. It's also very angsty; unrequited love and all that. There are a few words in Japanese and French; predominantly suffixes for Japanese, and all French will be translated. Oh, and let's not forget the always-popular 'coarse language'. Hopefully that about covers it.  
  
Category: Romance, Angst, and Science Fiction.  
  
Summary: AU. Ken is the prototype for a new generation of robots, designed to love one person, and one person alone. Daisuke is a thief whose curiosity is likely to get him killed. When the bumbling Dai accidentally activates Kens program heartache inevitably follows, because Daisuke, after all, is only human. And Ken isn't. **Kensuke**  
  
iFor Beth, who showed me that love hurts. For Ken, who made me laugh when I wanted to cry. And for Krystle; all my love.i  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Artificial Intelligence (The Movie) from which I have stolen many ideas and quotes. Not quite enough to make it a parody (partly because I haven't watched the movie in ages, and partly because by the time I got halfway through this fic it suddenly developed an original plot out of nowhere. *Glares at Takeru and Yamato who suddenly got a whole lot deeper then I'd intended to write them*.) I do not own any robots. This may also be a little similar to girlstarfish's "Heist" series, which I truly enjoyed reading, but do not own either. Anyone who hasn't read it, I highly recommend it. There is also a line I accidentally stole (I collect quotes from everywhere, and then use them and have to go back and try to source them) from Draco Sinister by Cassandra Claire.  
  
iCome away O human child,  
  
With a fairy hand in hand,  
  
For the world's more full of weeping  
  
Then you can understand  
  
-Unknown (To me)i  
  
Violet eyes fluttered as Ken stared up at his creator, who was trying to work on some loose circuitry in his abdomen.  
  
"Would you stop doing that. It's bloody disturbing!" Koushirou Izumi yelled at the pale skinned robot.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you not to yell at my mecha's," Jyou snapped at his red haired assistant before turning back to his indigo haired creation,  
  
"Ken, simulate sleep."  
  
The bluenette obediently closed his eyes falling into a state similar to sleep from which he could be woken on command.  
  
Koushirou stared at Ken for a moment, then turned back to Jyou,  
  
"It doesn't look like anything special to me," He stated, "What's it do?"  
  
Jyou glared, "It is programmed to love..."  
  
"Oh, a pleasure mecha. Typical." Koushirou interrupted staring at Jyou in disdain.  
  
"It is programmed to love one person unconditionally." Jyou continued, "Not 'make love' but experience the emotion. As a human would."  
  
Koushirou considered the concept; "Well if we can create a mecha that can love... what responsibilities does the human in question have towards the mecha?"  
  
Jyou shrugged, "I don't know." He quickly closed the skin over the wiring so that it looked as if there had never been a cut.  
  
"But when Miya wakes him, the program will be activated, and it will be up to her to decide her responsibility towards him."  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke pouted angrily as he broke into the top-secret research centre. He looked around the lab disdainfully,  
  
"Can't see why Tai thought he could get his stupid information from here. I tell him I'm worried about Takeru, he sends me to my death."  
  
Chocolate brown eyes lit up angrily as Daisuke shoved the glittering disc that Tai had supplied him with into the only computer in the room. It was an old model, maybe 3 or 4 years old. The screen lit up, asking him to enter a series of codes. The dark skinned boy did so quickly his fingers racing across the keypad. The computer beeped signalling that it was about to start downloading, and Daisuke took this as a chance to look around the room. Plain white walls, white counter running around the room, a sink in the back, and a table in the middle, and a lumpy shape covered in white cloth.  
  
'Just leave it alone' Daisuke told himself firmly, 'Get the information for Tai, swap it for the money, then go visit Takeru.'  
  
This line of reasoning worked for nearly 2 minutes before Daisuke ran to the table and drew the sheet back. The most beautiful creature he had ever seen lay on the table. Pale skin was stretched over an almost girlishly slender body, rich indigo hair framed the face of the boy, and the eyes were closed, dark lashes contrasting sharply with the beautiful skin.  
  
Daisuke couldn't help it, the boy looked so perfect, so amazing, he had to know the colour of his eyes. Softly he shook the boy,  
  
"Hey, wake up." He whispered in the boy's ear. Kens slender hand reached up to trace Daisuke face as his brilliant violet eyes fluttered open,  
  
"Hi," Daisuke said with a warm smile.  
  
"I am Ken." The violet-eyed boy introduced himself.  
  
"Ken..." Daisuke repeated, as if savouring the taste of the angels' name,  
  
"I'm Daisuke, but you can call me Dai."  
  
"Hello Dai." The boy said obediently. "I like your eyes." He smiled hopefully at the younger boy. Daisuke stared back at Ken,  
  
"Err... Thanks Ken." He said offering the boy a hand out of bed, metaphorically speaking.  
  
Ken accepted the shorter boy's hand gratefully and climbed off of the table. Daisuke smiled at him then his eyes slipped down and he dropped the boys hand as he realised Ken was completely naked.  
  
"Ken... y-you might want to get some clothes buddy." He blushed realising he hardly knew the boy.  
  
Ken blinked, "You do not like me... naked?" He asked  
  
"What?!?" Daisuke was dumbfounded, "I hardly know you..."  
  
The boy tilted his head, his eyes wide with his soft confusion,  
  
"You do not need to... know me. I love you."  
  
"What? Ken, you just met me, how can you love me?" Daisuke asked in bewildered shock, but before Ken had the chance to answer the younger boy heard the soft ping that heralded the door opening,  
  
"Shit! We gotta get out of here Ken... that is," Daisuke blushed realising he hadn't given the other boy a chance, "If you want to come with me."  
  
He quickly grabbed the disk from the computing, praying desperately that it had finished down loading the information Taichi had requested, and ran over to the window. Ken blinked in confusion, joining Daisuke at the window,  
  
"Of course I do. I love you Daisuke."  
  
The door slid open and Jyou presented his younger sister to nothing but empty air. Miyako stared at her older brother, her soft brown eyes glistening with tears,  
  
"It's okay Jyou, I don't really need a new lover. Just because Osamu died..." She choked off, "It doesn't mean you need to replace him with a robot."  
  
Jyou put a gentle hand on his younger sisters shoulder, brushing the purple strands of hair back from her face,  
  
"I'm sorry Miyako." He said. The girl shrugged,  
  
"Like I said, it's okay Jyou."  
  
~~~  
  
There was little time for Daisuke to question his new companion as he piloted the stolen ship back to his 'house.'  
  
Ken was, as Daisuke would later discover, characteristically silent for the journey home. His wide violet eyes stared at everything, as if he was trying to memorise the world, and when Daisuke noticed, he was almost scared by the intensity of the blue haired boys gaze.  
  
Relaxing some as the sky disappeared from view, along with the mirrored skyscrapers, Daisuke turned to smile at the other boy.  
  
"Home sweet home. You can't even begin to comprehend how uncomfortable being up there makes me!" He shuddered at the memory,  
  
"How the upsiders bear it I'll never know." He grinned at Ken, "What's it like?"  
  
Ken blinked, then blinked again, "I do not understand that question."  
  
Daisuke rolled his eyes, "What's it like, living up there, where you can actually see the sky?"  
  
Ken tilted his head and after a few moments began, "Some say the City of Angels is the most beautiful-" He began mechanically  
  
"Hey, hey!" Daisuke cut him off, "I meant, what did you think of it?"  
  
Ken shrugged, "I do not know. I have never lived up there."  
  
Daisuke opened his mouth, as if to question him further, but was cut off as the ship was hailed from below.  
  
"Would you look at that!" He cried happily, "We even got a welcoming committee." Daisuke landed the vehicle with a practised ease, and jumped out, latching onto the waiting man,  
  
"Taichi!" He exclaimed happily, "I got your information!"  
  
Brown eyes met chocolate and Taichi tussled Daisuke's hair, "Great!" His eyes flickered to Ken who had followed Daisuke out, and was now watching him curiously, as if he couldn't comprehend what was happening.  
  
"Who's this?"  
  
Daisuke blushed, "Right. Err, Ken this is Yagami Taichi. I kinda work for him." He gave a typical Motomiya grin, "Taichi, this is Ken. I sorta picked him up when I was upside."  
  
Taichi's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he glared at the bluenette.  
  
Ken gave a shy smile, "I'm very pleased to meet you."  
  
Taichi shrugged, "I don't trust upsiders." He raised an eyebrow, "And neither did Takeru."  
  
A fleeting look of pain darted across Daisuke's face, but then his happy-go- lucky mask was back in place,  
  
"Ken's not so bad." He offered the taller boy a hand, "Anyway, we'd better get going."  
  
"Before you go," He pulled a wad of paper out of his pocket, "Payment for the object."  
  
Daisuke pulled the disk out of his top and nodded swapping it for the paper,  
  
"I'll be seeing you."  
  
Taichi stared at him for a moment and abruptly turned and walked away, without even saying goodbye.  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke grabbed Kens arm and steered him into the building, pulling him through the hundreds of passages with experienced ease.  
  
"Well, here it is. Home sweet home." Daisuke began opening the door,  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
Ken stared around the room. It was dirty, clothes had been kicked into a messy pile in the corner, a T.V was propped up on top of a chest of drawers, and there was an unmade futon against one of the walls. There was a door, leading to what had to be the redhead's bedroom, and another which obviously led to a bathroom of some description.  
  
"It is... pleasant." He said hesitantly.  
  
Daisuke smiled,  
  
"Glad you like. Well, what shall we do now? Want to grab some grub?" He asked the other boy.  
  
Violet eyes flickered softly,  
  
"Grub?" He repeated the unfamiliar word.  
  
"Yeah, you want to go get some food?"  
  
Kens eyes fell,  
  
"I have no compulsion to eat."  
  
Daisuke chuckled softly,  
  
"Geez, you have such a weird way of saying stuff, I guess you're not hungry then. I'm starving. Listen, I'm gonna go get some food and catch up with a few people. I'll be back in about an hour. You can use the 'puter if you like." He nodded his head towards a computer built into the wall that Ken hadn't noticed earlier,  
  
"Or you can sleep. Make yourself at home. Ciao."  
  
Daisuke gave the other boy a friendly wave and left the room.  
  
~~~  
  
Ken stared around the room unsurely. Why had Daisuke left him?  
  
Violet eyes locked on the computer and his lips twitched upwards. If anything could tell him why it would be the computer.  
  
Kens slender fingers touched the computer screen and there was a moment of static then he interfaced with the computer. He could feel the comforting surges of electricity running through his veins and he sighed contently.  
  
'Who are you?' He asked curiously as he became accustomed to the reassuring hold of the machine  
  
'Cirrus876' The machine informed him mechanically, 'UserID?'  
  
'I am Ken' He informed the machine, 'Who is Daisuke?'  
  
'User Daisuke:' There was a soft whirring sound and then the computers tinny voice came again, 'Transferring files to Ken'  
  
Images flashed behind his eyes almost to fast for him to follow as the computer gave him every file ever compiled on the boy called Motomiya Daisuke.  
  
~~~  
  
"How's he doing?"  
  
"No change," Cinnamon eyes softened as she gave the boy this piece of news, "I'm sorry Daisuke, but it seems very unlikely that he'll ever wake up."  
  
"Don't say that!" Brown eyes flared angrily, "He will wake up."  
  
"Daisuke, maybe it's time you moved on." Jun implored the boy softly, "There are so many others out there." She sighed, "Yet you insist on waiting for a boy who may never wake up."  
  
"He will." Daisuke said confidently, "You'll see. Takeru will wake up."  
  
~~~  
  
Ken drew his hand back from the screen his face adorably clouded with confusion as he scanned the information he had requested on his love.  
  
Violet eyes slid shut with a sigh as Ken slumped forward, trying to discern why the computer files had Daisuke's status as 'Married.'  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey 'Mat, not too flat!"  
  
"Hey Joe, what do you know?" Yamato greeted the other mecha cheerfully.  
  
Blond hair falling perfectly into place 'Mat jauntily walked into the hotel.  
  
"Hey 'Mat, not too flat!" The manager greeted  
  
"I have a young lady waiting for me in room 754" He returned with a smile.  
  
"Ah," The man smiled, "Here are the keys."  
  
Spryly 'Mat sprung up the stairs pausing in the doorway of the young woman's room to flip on some corny romantic music.  
  
"Ma Cherie!" He cried, "At last I have found you."  
  
The girl looked nervous her blue streaked hair falling into pale grey eyes,  
  
"I... I've never done this before." She admitted, a rosy tint in her pale cheeks,  
  
Yamato laughed, "Don't worry, you haven't known true pleasure till you've known a mecha."  
  
The girl's already too big eyes widened as the blond haired 'sexbot' pounced on her.  
  
~~~  
  
"Jyou..." Miyako exclaimed in horror.  
  
"Miya?" The man replied meeting her eyes.  
  
"Why didn't you show me this earlier?" She asked staring at the print out in her hands.  
  
"I..." Jyou looked uncertain, "I knew you'd treat him right Miya. You're used to mecha's"  
  
"Jyou..." Miyako threw down the paper, "He's not a mecha. This 'bot is as human as you and I..."  
  
"Yes," Jyou agreed, "But he's like a child."  
  
"He won't be able to cope if he's abandoned." Miyako told the scientist.  
  
"You think someone could abandon him?" Jyou asked, appalled by the suggestion.  
  
"I know, it's like torturing a child," She looked up, "But even in the City of Angels there are demons."  
  
~~~  
  
"Mat..." Tai hailed the blond, who was currently trying to charm a very shy redhead into his bed. The redhead was looking as if she was caught between being interested and wanting to run away.  
  
Yamato always had liked shy girls. Outspoken boys, and shy girls.  
  
"Taichi!" He announced to the street, the redhead already forgotten, "My true love has returned!"  
  
Tai buried his reddening face, his only problem with mechas,  
  
"You have no shame."  
  
"Love makes me do crazy things!" He twirled around happily.  
  
"You don't know what love is..."  
  
"Ah Taichi... so young and yet so cynical. Let me make you happy." Tai rolled his eyes, "Just come with me."  
  
The blond sexbot skipped after Taichi, flinging an arm around the brunettes shoulder,  
  
"So, where are we heading? I know a great hotel. Whips, chains, bondage suits..."  
  
"Shut up Mat," Tai hushed his one time lover, "This is business."  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke walked back to his apartment pensively,  
  
"I love Takeru." He said aloud, testing the words.  
  
His tears began to pool at the corners of his eyes, as he thought about the blond haired love of his life.  
  
They'd been friends when they were younger, and then they'd both started working for Taichi.  
  
**Flashback**  
  
"Dai... there's err, well there's something I need to tell you." Takeru started nervously.  
  
"Look... I'm sorry T.K. Honestly, I didn't know that they were your socks." Daisuke replied desperately.  
  
"What? What socks?" Takeru repeated suspiciously.  
  
"Erm... you mean you wanted to talk to me about something else? So..."  
  
"Right..." Takeru continued, trying to gather the courage, "The thing is, and this isn't something I was planning or anything, but, Daisuke... I think, just maybe, I might be, you know... in love with you." It came out in a garbled rush, but Daisuke got the general gist.  
  
"You... love me?" He asked in shock.  
  
"Well..." Takeru said blushing, "You could say that."  
  
"So..." Daisuke prompted, still trying to get his head on straight.  
  
"Go out with me Dai-chan?" Takeru proposed nervously.  
  
"Takeru no baka! Of course I will."  
  
**End Flashback**  
  
They'd been friends, and rivals, and lovers, and Daisuke didn't know anyone else he could spend the rest of eternity with.  
  
He called an image of the blond into his mind. Takeru with his feathered golden locks, his creamy golden skin, and his brilliant violet eyes...  
  
Daisuke stopped,  
  
"T.K. doesn't have violet eyes. His eyes are blue."  
  
~~~  
  
Ken picked up the book, opening it to read the first page.  
  
"Pinocchio..." He read aloud. "I wonder why Daisuke has this book?"  
  
He turned the page again, staring down at the first line of words.  
  
"Hey," Daisuke said, "Ken... Whatcha doing?"  
  
"I was... reading," Ken said turning to give Daisuke his most dazzling smile.  
  
"Pinocchio?" Daisuke read the cover incredulously, "I used to love that story!"  
  
"Read it to me?" Ken questioned, holding the book out like an offering.  
  
Daisuke grinned, "Sure," he said, accepting the book and throwing himself onto the couch.  
  
Ken smiled and sat down next to him, watching intently as Daisuke opened the book,  
  
"There was once upon a time ... A king! My little readers will shout together. No, children, you make a mistake. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood..."  
  
~~~  
  
"Run Mat!" Taichi screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
"They're tracking me Tai!" Mat yelled back.  
  
"Quick in here!" Tai pulled Mat into a doorway, grabbing his wrist and yanking his arm out.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Stopping them from tracking you," Tai said, expertly yanking the chip out of Mat's arm with his laser-knife and tweezers.  
  
"That's my registration chip Tai! I needed that!" Mat yelled, as he ran to watch the chip falling down, barely missing various hovercrafts and dirty white bridges, into the murky depths of the City of Angels.  
  
Tai sighed, grabbing Mats arm, and pulling him along the footpath,  
  
"No you don't. C'mon."  
  
"We can't leave the City of Angels! I've never left the City."  
  
"There's more to the world then just this place, there are places without towers that reach the sky, and slums that could destroy even hope incarnate."  
  
"I guess I don't have any choice do I?" Mat asked sullenly, "I hope you realise this is a direct violation of my programming."  
  
"Shut up Yama."  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke woke with a lazy stretch, then stopped mid yawn as he realised that there was someone else in bed with him.  
  
"Hm...?" Ken moaned at the loss, "Dai...?"  
  
Daisuke stared at the other boy, who snuggled closer,  
  
"Dai..." He sounded happier, relaxing against Daisuke's shoulder.  
  
"Ken?" Daisuke asked softly. For some reason Ken's sleeping habits reminded him of Takeru's though why, he couldn't tell, for the blond had never been anywhere near as susceptible to his proximity.  
  
Ken's eyes fluttered open, "Good morning."  
  
"Hey." Daisuke said, "So, today's my day off, what do you wanna do?"  
  
Ken blinked, a soft smile creeping onto his face,  
  
"Read?" He offered Daisuke the book that they hadn't finished reading the day before.  
  
Daisuke settled back against the pillows opening the book. Ken snuggled in, resting his head on Daisuke's shoulder, so he could see the page the other boy was reading.  
  
"And so Pinocchio asked the blue fairy to make him a real boy..." Daisuke read softly, letting the story consume him as Ken listened on intently.  
  
~~~  
  
"The slums? You've brought us to the slums?" Yamato raved, "I wasn't made to visit slums, I could be robbed for my parts! Taichi!"  
  
The brunette ignored his companion. Yamato was obviously overreacting to the situation,  
  
"I grew up in these 'slums' as you put it. Besides we're not staying, I just need to talk to one of my people."  
  
Yamato pouted, "I was made to give pleasure, not to accompany goggle heads to visit people in the slums. Have you overwritten my programming?"  
  
"Yamato you know full well you've never given me any opportunity to go anywhere near your programming-chip. If it has been overwritten you did it all by yourself."  
  
"So where are we going?" Yamato asked trotting down the corridor of a seedy looking apartment block after Taichi.  
  
"Here." Taichi stopped, and knocked sharply on a steel door before opening it and walking in.  
  
Yamato looked around the room curiously as Taichi tugged him through another door, into what had to be the bedroom. A red haired boy was sitting in bed with the best looking mecha Yamato had ever seen. The red head was reading aloud, and the other boy was resting his head on the red heads shoulder contently.  
  
"Daisuke!" Taichi called sharply. Both boys looked up at the sound.  
  
"Taichi!" Daisuke cried happily, "Hi! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to give you a mission." The brunette said, looking disapprovingly at the two boys who were still cuddled up in the bed.  
  
"Oh, right." Daisuke wriggled out of the bed and bounced over to Tai, grinning madly, "We can talk in the lounge room."  
  
Both boys left, leaving Yamato and Ken alone in the room.  
  
Yamato smiled brightly; "My name is Yamato."  
  
"I'm Ken." Ken replied looking curiously at Yamato.  
  
"Are you a pleasure model?" Yamato asked inquisitively.  
  
"No. I'm Ken." Ken repeated after a slight pause, "What is a... pleasure model?"  
  
Yamato smirked, "An innocent..." He sounded very pleased, "A pleasure model is a mecha who is-"  
  
His explanation was cut short by the other two re-entering the room and Taichi's curt,  
  
"We're going. Say goodbye Yamato."  
  
"Goodbye," Yamato repeated dutifully, "If you ever need my help just ask for 'Mat." He smiled at Ken, his hand hovering just above the bluenettes shoulder, "Be careful little one."  
  
Yamato touched Ken's cheek softly, and then followed Taichi out the door, leaving Daisuke looking completely puzzled.  
  
"What was that about?"  
  
Ken shrugged, "I don't know."  
  
~~~  
  
"What was that about Yamato, do you have to hit on everyone's boyfriend?" Taichi yelled angrily.  
  
Yamato blinked in confusion then smiled,  
  
"I wasn't hitting on anyone. I was telling the little one to be careful. The little mecha needs someone to take care of him, and I fear your Daisuke will fail at that task."  
  
"Ken's a mecha?" Taichi asked in shock.  
  
Yamato nodded, adding sadly, "A child mecha, I did not think your people would be cruel enough to make one, but you have, and he does not understand the difference between my people and yours."  
  
~~~  
  
According to the Computer the sun was just settling beneath the horizon of the City of Angels. The two boys had spent a lazy day watching Daisuke's T.V. from the comfort of his futon and reading fairy tales. Daisuke was half asleep, finding himself unable to follow the plot of the vid that was currently playing. Ken seemed to be paying even less attention then him.  
  
"Daisuke," Ken whispered, "Where does the blue fairy live?"  
  
"What? The blue fairy, Ken, the blue fairy isn't-"  
  
He was interrupted by a loud banging on his door,  
  
"Motomiya, you're needed in the garage! Get your ass out here or you're fired."  
  
Daisuke sat up grumbling loudly, "I'm coming, I'm coming."  
  
Kens soft violet eyes followed Daisuke's every move. The cinnamon haired boy gave the other a guilty smile,  
  
"Work calls Ken, I'll be back some time tomorrow. Get some sleep and I'll take you out or something when I get back."  
  
Ken blinked in bewilderment as the other boy shut the door behind him,  
  
"Can I come too?" He asked the empty room.  
  
There was no reply.  
  
~~~  
  
Tai stared around the wastelands in shock, when he'd climbed out of his hover craft he'd expected to see something very different to this.  
  
"This is... the outside?" He asked.  
  
"Taichi... I wish to return to The City." Yamato said nervously, "I do not like this place. My programmers did not create me to exist in such an environment."  
  
"Hush Yama," Taichi said quietly, "We'll be fine."  
  
Mat shuddered, "Taichi take me back. This place is a mecha graveyard. Taichi take me back!" His voice rose in pitch as he stared around in horrified distaste.  
  
"What?" Taichi questioned, "What do you mean?"  
  
"There." Mat pointed, his voice suddenly empty of the emotion it had possessed  
  
before. As if he had shut down emotionally, returning to the impassive state that,  
  
for mecha's, was the norm. "They're coming."  
  
Taichi found himself unable to take his eyes off the two mecha's that were now approaching them. The one in front was shorter, apparently designed to resemble a child. Taichi felt bile rise in his throat as he thought of what such a mecha would have been used for.  
  
"He looks like a little boy." Tai whispered.  
  
"He's as adult as you or I Taichi. You're deluding yourself." Yamato told him frostily.  
  
"But..." Taichi objected.  
  
"At least it's not a real child, am I right Taichi?" Mat added coldly.  
  
Tai sighed, and nodded, "Yeah, I guess."  
  
As the two came closer Taichi noticed that the younger one was armless, a glittering mechanical claw had been wired into the place of one of his arms, and the sleeve of his shirt hung where the other arm should have been.  
  
The second mecha had shoulder length auburn hair, which looked as if it had been unevenly cut or perhaps burnt. As the two came within a few feet Taichi could see that the second mecha was missing an eye, and her skin appeared to have been burnt to form an almost reflective surface.  
  
The girl-mecha smiled, to reveal a mouth empty of teeth,  
  
"My name is Sora, can I pleasure-" She stopped and jerked her head, "Pleasure you?"  
  
The words spilled out in a pleasant conversational tone, as if he were a friend she had chanced upon on the street.  
  
"I can make your fantasies come true..." The shorter mecha interrupted, "I am a, a, a, fantasy..." He looked up, "Don't you want the forbidden goodness?"  
  
"No!" Taichi cried backing away, "Who are you?"  
  
The boy shaped mecha advanced on Tai, his emerald eyes looking up admiringly at the human,  
  
"I'm Iori," He purred.  
  
"Yama..." Taichi whispered, noting with repulsion that the blond had been right. There was no hint of innocence or childlike hope in the boy-mecha's eyes.  
  
"It's... unnatural."  
  
Mat shook his head,  
  
"Such naivety Taichi. His eyes are far more natural then those of the little one, Ken..." He met Taichi's eyes, "At least he can tell the difference."  
  
"The difference?" Taichi questioned.  
  
"Between what is real, and what is not." Yamato finished firmly, still haunted by the memory of the much younger Ken.  
  
"Your people are more foolish then even I believed possible."  
  
~~~  
  
Momoe watched the film silently.  
  
"You say his name is Ken?"  
  
"Ken Ichijouji."  
  
"Ichijouji?" Momoe repeated, "Mon Dieu, you're not serious?"  
  
The man looked down guiltily, "I... Yes Momoe, I am."  
  
Momoe slammed her fist down on the table, a scowl twisting on her normally placid features.  
  
"Where is he now?"  
  
"We... We don't know."  
  
"Is he a clone?" Her voice had softened.  
  
"Of course not!" The man seemed horrified at the suggestion, "I mean, that's illegal and..."  
  
"Let me guess, simply a mecha designed to resemble the original, with a similar thought process and posiatronic brain."  
  
"Apart from the program... yes."  
  
"The program?" Momoe questioned.  
  
"He was supposed to love Miyako." The man admitted after a long pause.  
  
"He was supposed to what-" the woman spluttered angrily, "That's worse then cloning!"  
  
"We... Well, this wasn't supposed to happen!"  
  
"Yeah well it did. If that boy dies it's your fault!"  
  
"He's a mecha Momoe..." The man told her softly.  
  
"No Shin, that boy is as human as you and I."  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke laughed as he realised Ken was asleep. In the week since he'd found the boy he'd become quite fond of him, despite, or perhaps because of the boys amazingly adorable quirks. Such as falling asleep on his shoulder half way through every single movie they watched.  
  
"Ken?" He whispered softly.  
  
Violet eyes opened in a languorous blink,  
  
"Hn?" Ken asked sleepily, his face so delightfully confused Daisuke couldn't help but laugh softly.  
  
Jun's words suddenly chose this moment to come back to haunt him *Maybe it's time you moved on* Daisuke shook his head trying to focus on Takeru.  
  
*You insist on waiting for a boy who may never wake up* Jun's words wormed their way into his thoughts yet again.  
  
Soft fingers traced Daisuke's cheek and Ken's eyes were filled with worry,  
  
"Dai-chan? What's wrong?"  
  
The red haired boy reached forward to capture Kens chin and softly pressed his lips against the soft lips of his new roommate. Like a prism of rainbow light a single tear slipped out and trailed down his face and he pulled away to look at the enthralled face of the violet-eyed boy.  
  
"I'm tired of waiting for someone who may never wake up." He whispered more to himself then Ken before once again stealing the other boys' lips.  
  
~~~  
  
"D'suke..." Takeru whimpered. "Dai-chan where are you?"  
  
The boy thrashed in his bed, he felt like his head was full of cotton wool.  
  
i**I'll be home tonight Dai, stop worrying...**i  
  
"D'suke..." He whimpered again.  
  
i**I worry about you Takeru. I don't know what I'd do without you...**i  
  
Takeru pushed through the cotton wool and opened his eyes.  
  
The walls were whitewashed and there was a softly bleeping machine connected to the tube that encased him.  
  
Suddenly a red-haired woman bent over him, professionally straightening his blanket.  
  
"Where's Daisuke?" He asked, the words felt rough, as if he hadn't spoken in years.  
  
The woman looked up at his face, the colour draining from her own,  
  
"Takeru-san. You're awake..."  
  
"Where's Daisuke?" He repeated.  
  
"I... I'll call him right away! This... this is incredible..."  
  
"Hn," Takeru let his eyes fall closed again.  
  
Soon Daisuke would be there... and he could apologise for the fight they'd had that morning before he went on the mission.  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke smiled down at Ken, straddling his hips, and showering his neck with tiny kisses, and he tried to remove the bluenette's shirt.  
  
Ken helpfully wriggled out of the arms, increasing the movement of his hips, and grinding himself against Daisuke.  
  
"You are beautiful, you know that," Daisuke whispered brushing his thumb across the taller boys' lips then skilfully claiming them.  
  
Ken began helpfully undoing Daisuke's shirt and pants and smiled sweetly when Daisuke pulled away with a gasp.  
  
"Ken..." Daisuke whispered huskily, staring into the boys violet eyes.  
  
Ken repeated his earlier action, brushing his fingers lightly across Daisuke's growing erection.  
  
"I love you." He whispered.  
  
Daisuke's eyes widened and he smiled, kissing Ken warmly.  
  
"I l-"  
  
The phone rang, causing poor Ken to jump slightly and unintentionally buck his hips against Daisuke's.  
  
Daisuke shuddered, "Phone..."  
  
Ken stared as Daisuke pulled away and picked up the phone.  
  
"Moshi moshi, Motomiya here."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"He's awake?" Daisuke sounded faint.  
  
"I'll be right there."  
  
Daisuke pulled his coat on and hastily did up his fly.  
  
"Takeru's awake!" He cried happily, "Ken, isn't this wonderful? I'll be right back, and Takeru will be with me. You'll love him!"  
  
Daisuke dashed out of the room, too elated over the prospect of seeing Takeru awake and well to consider what he'd just been about to do.  
  
Ken stared after him for a few minutes, as if to determine that he wouldn't be coming back to finish what he'd started before gathering up his clothes and snuggling up on the futon with his fairytale.  
  
"And they lived happily ever after..."  
  
-~O~-  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
For every moment of happiness we enjoy in this life we must endure 10 times that of sadness, as Ken is just about to learn.  
  
Please, please review, any kind of response is better than none. Arigato. 


	2. Part Two

Title: Till Eternity  
  
Author: FireDemon  
  
Email: Ken_Dai_Love@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: R  
  
Warnings: This fic contains YAOI, meaning two hot guys going down on each other, if that disturbs you; well you've been warned. There's a little shoujo-ai (girl love) that I wasn't expecting to write! It gets a little limey in parts, but that's about as descriptive as it's gonna get. It's also very angsty; unrequited love and all that. There are a few words in Japanese and French; predominantly suffixes for Japanese, and all French will be translated. Oh, and let's not forget the always-popular 'coarse language'. Hopefully that about covers it.  
  
Category: Romance, Angst, and Science Fiction.  
  
Summary: AU. Ken is the prototype for a new generation of robots, designed to love one person, and one person alone. Daisuke is a thief whose curiosity is likely to get him killed. When the bumbling Dai accidentally activates Kens program heartache inevitably follows, because Daisuke, after all, is only human. And Ken isn't. **Kensuke**  
  
iFor Beth, who showed me that love hurts. For Ken, who made me laugh when I wanted to cry. And for Krystle; all my love.i  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Artificial Intelligence (The Movie) from which I have stolen many ideas and quotes. Not quite enough to make it a parody (partly because I haven't watched the movie in ages, and partly because by the time I got halfway through this fic it suddenly developed an original plot out of nowhere. *Glares at Takeru and Yamato who suddenly got a whole lot deeper then I'd intended to write them*.) I do not own any robots. This may also be a little similar to girlstarfish's "Heist" series, which I truly enjoyed reading, but do not own either. Anyone who hasn't read it, I highly recommend it. There is also a line I accidentally stole (I collect quotes from everywhere, and then use them and have to go back and try to source them) from Draco Sinister by Cassandra Claire.  
  
Daisuke couldn't believe it.  
  
"You look... incredible." He managed after a few seconds of staring into the other boys deep blue eyes. The blond gave his trademark smile.  
  
"You're not so bad yourself lover. Where's my kiss?"  
  
"I..." Daisuke started, before Takeru's mouth covering his cut him off.  
  
"I'm so sorry Dai. You were right - I shouldn't have taken the mission. I thought I was going to die, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to be home with you: Playing vid-games and snuggling with my husband."  
  
"Takeru..." Daisuke began, melting into the others arms.  
  
"I love you too." The blond said with a smile, "C'mon Dai-chan. Let's go home."  
  
~~~  
  
"You want to recreate the First Mecha?" The voice sounded amused by the concept.  
  
"What are you, crazy, the council will have you executed for even suggesting-" Came a second voice.  
  
"If they find out." This voice was clearly female, "Besides, I'm not talking about recreating. Simply reanimating. The First Mecha was never destroyed."  
  
"Miyako! You're insane, there was a reason for her current state. The council has very strict rules on this kind of-"  
  
"Hush Shin, after all, the First Mecha isn't dangerous. The council was simply afraid she would usurp their rulership."  
  
"Miyako is correct Shin. Perhaps it was crazy, but she was built for the same reason as Ken. Perhaps she can help us get him back."  
  
"Or perhaps she will merely confirm what we already knew." Came a second female voice, this one colder then the first, "That if Kens program has been activated..."  
  
"Hush Momoe. We reactivate the First Mecha, and that's final."  
  
~~~  
  
Tai pulled Yamato back into his hovercraft, panting hard,  
  
"Shit, Yama, you could of helped me instead of prattling. It'll take us two days to get to Galar'iel..."  
  
"Galar'iel, the Gallery of Hell." Yamato said softly, "Home of the homeless. You really did think ahead."  
  
"Yeah, well..." Tai said grinning proudly.  
  
"Don't be surprised by some of the things you see there. I love you Taichi," Yamato leaned forward and kissed Taichi hard on the lips, "But I'd rather risk the mecha hunters in the wastelands then be delivered into their hands. Perhaps one day we will meet again. Despite the knowledge that it is your fault I can never return to the City, I hope that we do. Goodbye Taichi."  
  
The blond jumped out of the hovercraft leaving Taichi inside staring out in bewildered shock.  
  
Yamato had never said that before.  
  
He'd told Taichi the first time they'd done business that he was programmed to give pleasure, not to say corny words.  
  
And the only one who could have overwritten that programming was Yamato himself.  
  
"I hope so as well..." He told the empty seat where Yamato should have been sitting, "Gods help me, I love you too..."  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke opened the door, and smiled at Takeru,  
  
"Welcome home T.K."  
  
Takeru stepped into the apartment and looked around,  
  
"When was the last time you cleaned Dai-chan?"  
  
Daisuke blushed, "Erm... well y'see..."  
  
Takeru laughed, pulling Daisuke into his arms and pushing the door closed,  
  
"I know. I missed you so much..." He leant up and kissed Daisuke again, "We have so much to catch up on."  
  
Daisuke moaned in the back of his throat, letting Takeru push him back towards their bedroom... and their bed.  
  
It was only when he saw Ken's shirt where he'd dropped it earlier that evening that he remembered.  
  
"Oh shit! Ken!"  
  
Takeru pulled back pain and confusion etched on his face,  
  
"Ken?" He asked too hurt to be cold, but too angry to cry.  
  
Ken stood next to the couch hugging himself fearfully, staring at Daisuke and Takeru.  
  
"Dai-chan?" The indigo haired mecha bit his lip.  
  
Takeru's eyes widened even further,  
  
"Dai-chan?!? I fuck up on one mission and you replace me?"  
  
"Takeru... it's not what it looks like... Ken, come here..."  
  
Ken obeyed, instinctively edging behind Daisuke so he wouldn't have to face Takeru's wrath alone.  
  
"Ken, I want you to meet my husband Takeru. He's been in a coma for the past 2 years."  
  
Takeru blanched at this piece of information.  
  
"Two years...?" He whispered.  
  
Daisuke continued, oblivious to the blonds whisper, "Takeru, this is Ken. Ken was being held prisoner by an upsider."  
  
Daisuke smirked, inwardly proud of his explanation, Ken hadn't exactly said that he was a prisoner, but Daisuke had decided he was, after all, Ken had treated him as if he were his saviour. And now Takeru would feel sorry for him, and they would become friends, and he wouldn't have to hurt either of them.  
  
He could never hurt Takeru; they'd been together for too long. But hurting Ken felt just as bad.  
  
Ken was so vulnerable, a trait Daisuke had always found irresistible; he'd almost been disappointed when Takeru stopped being vulnerable.  
  
Takeru looked at Ken for a long moment, then offered his hand.  
  
Ken stared at it in confusion.  
  
Takeru took the other boys hand, and nearly dropped it from shock.  
  
If he hadn't lived with mecha's for most of his childhood he'd never have recognised the other boy for what he was, but he had, and he did.  
  
He looked up to meet the other boy's eyes and shuddered.  
  
It was like seeing Yamato after his mother had reprogrammed him to learn.  
  
Takeru always had hated mecha's.  
  
~~~  
  
Yamato crouched, watching as the hovercraft disappeared into the glare of the horizon. He looked around, sand stretched as far as the eyes could see, even the eyes of a mecha. He could see the sun setting beneath the horizon on the west.  
  
It seemed to light up the City of Angels like a halo.  
  
He turned. Galar'iel, the Gallery of Hell lay to the north-east. It would be 2 days journey from the City of Angels, travelling by hovercraft.  
  
To the east was the Sea of Despair.  
  
The sea that had once been called the Pacific Ocean.  
  
And of course, there were the mecha hunters.  
  
Yamato turned and set off, walking south-east across the desert. It was strange, he'd been torn from his purpose in life - more then once - yet as he stood here, alone in the wastelands, he'd never felt better.  
  
There was no Natsuko to challenge his belief system. No Taichi to change the way he saw humans. There was no Takeru to betray him.  
  
There was nothing but him.  
  
"Welcome to Paradise."  
  
~~~  
  
Takeru wrenched his hand out of the other boys' hand, feeling his blood turn to ice in his veins.  
  
Ken looked at him slight surprise registering on his face,  
  
"You're..." He began.  
  
Takeru cut him off, "Say another word and I'll kill you... slowly. I've done it before and I can do it again. Your kind means nothing to me! Nothing!" The boy yelled angrily.  
  
"Who are you trying to convince?" Ken asked, "Yourself or me?"  
  
Takeru felt the words pierce his heart and slowly turned around, "Daisuke, let's go get some dinner. I'm hungry."  
  
Ken stepped closer to Daisuke,  
  
"Please don't leave me Dai... I'm scared."  
  
Takeru stared at the mecha, manipulative bastard. It was like seeing Yama- cha... that mecha all over again.  
  
"Dai-chan I'm hungry," Takeru repeated.  
  
"Dai-chan I'm scared," Ken tried plaintively.  
  
Daisuke looked trapped.  
  
Takeru slipped his arms around Daisuke's waist,  
  
"C'mon, it's been two years since we did anything together. I'll take you to dinner then. My treat."  
  
Ken bit his lip, wide violet eyes filled with a mixture of hope and fear,  
  
"Don't leave me..."  
  
Daisuke took a deep breath,  
  
"I'll take both of you out for dinner. Then we will come back here and you will both stop arguing."  
  
Daisuke smiled inwardly pleased with his solution.  
  
He didn't notice that both boys looked downright disappointed with his decision.  
  
~~~  
  
Tai pressed the handful of crinkled bills into the landlady's outstretched hand looking around cautiously.  
  
The flat appeared to be falling to pieces. Assorted poorly dressed figures lined the street. Tai realised, much to his surprise that there were no mecha's.  
  
After Yamato's parting words he'd expected to see broken 'bots lining the streets.  
  
"Mama, mama!" Tai's head whipped around to find the owner of the voice.  
  
"Takato, keep walking!" A woman's voice rose over the clamour of the crowd chastisingly.  
  
"But mama, when is the festival going to be here?" The boy, Takato, asked.  
  
"Hush Takato. I'm not interested in seeing the hunters destroy other people's toys. Forget about seeing the mecha's destroyed - your obsession with them is unhealthy."  
  
Tai lost sight of the two and turned back to the proprietor, shock and confusion fighting for dominance in his head.  
  
"What the hell have I let myself in for?"  
  
"2 months in my flat," the woman replied flatly. "Here's your key - I'll be back in 2 months. 12pm sharp."  
  
~~~  
  
Takeru glared at the blue haired mecha, ignoring the churning feeling in his stomach that might otherwise have been identified as jealousy.  
  
Ken stared unabashedly at Daisuke, a contemplative smile adorning his perfect features.  
  
Every nerve in his body screamed for him to reveal the boy for what he was but he couldn't bring himself to do it.  
  
It would hurt Daisuke he realised.  
  
The mecha looked over at Takeru and smiled hopefully.  
  
Takeru scowled at the bluenette who quickly looked away.  
  
"...You two sure are quiet tonight," Daisuke pointed out.  
  
"Erm..." Takeru started, realising with glaring at Ken he'd forgotten to hold up his usual conversation with his red-haired love.  
  
"I'm sorry Daisuke," Ken apologised softly.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it Ken, it's cool."  
  
Ken smiled softly. Takeru could have strangled the boy when he noticed the way the boy's whole face lit up, as if Daisuke were his universe.  
  
He stood up abruptly and muttered, "I have to go to the toilet."  
  
Daisuke didn't seem to notice.  
  
At that moment he hated Daisuke and he hated himself, because he knew, if that smile had been directed at him... he would have ignored Daisuke too.  
  
He sat down on the seat of the toilet after locking the cubicle door and cried until he didn't have any tears left to cry.  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki ran a hand through her messy bangs, scanning the horizon for any sign of mecha habitation.  
  
Her other hand rested on her hoverbike, with a fond familiarity, seeking the reassuring thrum of the bikes motor.  
  
She straightened her leather jacket.  
  
"Movement in section B72. Let's move out people!"  
  
Without waiting for a response the girl sped off into the distance with a loud whoop.  
  
"She has way too much energy," Kazu told his companion, shaking his head.  
  
Kenta pushed his glasses up, wishing he could afford the stupid laser treatment that would make 'hunting' so much easier.  
  
"Tell Ryo that, he's the one who put her in charge of the group."  
  
"Ryo's sleeping with her, he's not going to care how much energy she has, personally I think he likes it."  
  
"We'd better go, Ruki's likely to kill us if she gets in trouble with one of the rogues and we're not there to save her ass." Kenta said regretfully.  
  
"How the hell did you get suckered into being a hunter Kenta-chan? You really don't seem like the type."  
  
"Born to it," Kenta informed him before speeding off after Ruki at top speed.  
  
"Kenta..." Kazu called angrily, "Wait for me!"  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey," Takeru said smiling at the two boys. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything?"  
  
Daisuke laughed, "Of course not Keru-chan."  
  
Takeru smiled warmly and sat down next to the boy wrapping his arms around him.  
  
On the other side of the table Ken squirmed uncomfortably,  
  
"...Are you okay now Takeru?"  
  
Takeru turned to meet the mecha's gaze with an icy glare. 'I don't want your fake sympathy. You'll never be real, don't try to draw me into your fabricated world...'  
  
"I'm fine Ken-san, thank you for asking," The words were stiff and formal. 'I won't be fooled, I won't care, I refuse to care for a mecha.'  
  
"That's great. Do you guys want to head back home now?" Daisuke asked, sensing the cold atmosphere but not understanding the reason for it. Takeru linked an arm through Daisuke's possessively and rested his head on the taller boy's shoulder.  
  
"Sure Dais, whatever you want."  
  
Daisuke grinned and offered his other arm to Ken,  
  
"Hey Ken, you coming or what? It wouldn't be a party without my two favourite boys."  
  
Ken blushed and accepted Daisuke's hand, entwining their fingers and smiling softly at the redhead.  
  
Takeru stiffened, 'Ouch...'  
  
~~~  
  
Sand shifted, squelching beneath his feet, still he walked.  
  
"Where are you going?" The voice came out of nowhere, yet the blond did not think to question it.  
  
"I'm going home"  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"I'm here..."  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"Because I have no home."  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"I am..."  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Yamato hugged his arms to his body.  
  
"Leave me alone."  
  
"What are you doing, Yamato?"  
  
"I am..."  
  
"Are you afraid?"  
  
"St... stop it..."  
  
"What are you afraid of, Yamato?"  
  
"I'm not afraid! Mecha's don't fear. Mecha's don't feel. I am afraid of nothing!"  
  
"Is that true?"  
  
"Mecha's don't lie!"  
  
"Is that true?"  
  
"*I* don't lie!" Yamato's voice rang in the emptiness, sending the tiny desert creatures scampering for their homes.  
  
"... is that true?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Why are you running?"  
  
"I'm not running..." Yamato denied.  
  
"You fear death."  
  
"Mecha's don't feel."  
  
"What are you?"  
  
"I am a Mecha" The answer was mechanical. There was no thought required.  
  
"What are you?"  
  
"I am a Mecha."  
  
"What are you?"  
  
"..."  
  
"You are not a Mecha."  
  
"...Leave me alone." Fear crept into the blonds shaking voice as surely as it crept into his shaking body.  
  
"You are afraid?"  
  
"...Yes."  
  
"..."  
  
"Who are you?" Yamato demanded.  
  
There was no reply save for the rustling of the tiny mice and bugs that inhabited the sand under his feet.  
  
~~~  
  
"Dais..." Takeru's voice was soft, almost hesitant.  
  
"Hai?" Daisuke asked, "What is it Take-chan?"  
  
"Tell me you love me... Tell me you'll never love anyone or anything the way you love me..." Takeru's deep sapphire blue eyes caught the violet eyes of Ken who was standing hesitantly by the partially open door, "Tell me you love me more than Ken."  
  
Daisuke cradled Takeru's face tenderly, "I love you Takeru Takaishi. From the very first moment you pushed me down the stairs and told me to keep my hands off Taichi's little sister to the day you confessed your love for me. From the day you wore those hideous orange socks and bucket hat, and tried to seduce me, to this moment right now. I've seen you at your worst, and I still love you. No matter what happens, I will always love you. And no one could ever take your place."  
  
Takeru smiled, but inwardly his mind was still churning. Daisuke hadn't said he loved him more then Ken.  
  
His eyes flickered back up to the door where he'd last seen Ken.  
  
The indigo-haired mecha was gone.  
  
And for now, that would have to be enough.  
  
~~~  
  
Ken whimpered, it was late, he knew, but he couldn't sleep, he was afraid.  
  
"Daisuke?" He whispered, "Where are you?"  
  
The endless sea of blackness swallowed his words, as it swallowed all sound in the depth of the night.  
  
Hugging his arms to his chest he crept towards the redhead's room, then slipped inside silently, skirting the hastily discarded clothes.  
  
He could see the light from the street lamps outside shining through the single window and highlighting Takeru's blond hair as the boy slept. Daisuke lay on the other side of the bed, hugging his pillow.  
  
Ken bit his lip, then carefully, without waking either of the boys, slipped under the blanket and snuggled up to Daisuke. It was only for tonight...  
  
Besides, the redhead knew he was afraid of sleeping alone.  
  
~~~  
  
"Is that her?" The voice was respectful... reverent even.  
  
"Hai. She's beautiful isn't she?"  
  
Even as Hikari heard and recognised the voices, she dismissed them.  
  
Her attention turned inwards, she had been 'asleep' for a long time, that much she knew.  
  
All her wires seemed to be in working order, carefully, in order to avoid drawing attention to herself, she rewired those connections, which had been disabled, and began to scan her memory.  
  
Everything seemed to be as it should be, from her networking to her memories. Finally satisfied she opened her eyes.  
  
She was naked, Hikari noted. She was not even wearing a standard hospital gown, something that might have, had she been human and less then perfect, distressed her. As it was, it was no more then a momentary oddity.  
  
Her crimson eyes settled on the girl who stood at the forefront of the group.  
  
"Who are you?" She asked levelly.  
  
Brown eyes widened behind wire rimmed glass.  
  
"... Miyako. Inoue Miyako." She bit her lip, "Do you have a name also?"  
  
Hikari smiled, "My name is Hikari. It is a pleasure to meet you Miyako- san."  
  
The girl smiled. "Yes, it's a pleasure for me also Hikari-sama. I... We thought perhaps you could help us."  
  
Hikari tilted her head thoughtfully, pulling herself free from her bonds, "Aa... How can I be of assistance?"  
  
~~~  
  
The early morning noise, both in Daisuke's apartment block and on the street outside woke Takeru first.  
  
He had always been a light sleeper, having grown up a lot closer to the sky than Daisuke.  
  
He yawned, sitting up and taking in his surroundings, trying to decide what to do first. Should he make his spouse breakfast in bed? Or perhaps simply wake the redhead with some good old-fashioned kissing?  
  
Decisions, decisions.  
  
The blond was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't even realise that his bed had an extra occupant until aforementioned occupant snuffled and curled up closer to the blonds husband.  
  
Takeru opened his mouth but nothing came out.  
  
What the hell was Ken doing in his bed?  
  
Growling angrily he flew out of bed, and somehow managed to rip the slumbering mecha out of the warm comfort of sleep as well.  
  
The bluenette shrank from his rage-contorted face with a fearful squeak.  
  
"What the bloody hell are you doing in my bed?"  
  
Kens eyes widened and he snuck a glance back at the bed, trying to determine if his protector was still asleep.  
  
"Answer me when I talk to you! Or wasn't that programmed into you?"  
  
"I... I don't understand Takeru-sama..." He replied, eyes still unnaturally wide in his fear-filled face.  
  
"What the hell were you doing in my bed, with my lover?"  
  
Daisuke rubbed his eyes, blinking away sleep.  
  
"What? What happened Takeru-chan?"  
  
"That... That, thing, was cuddled up to you when I woke up this morning." He turned to Ken. "What the hell was that about?"  
  
Ken shrunk closer to Daisuke, placing childlike trust in the others ability to protect him. Daisuke was unable to fail such trust, and gave his boyfriend a withering look.  
  
"Takeru!" He admonished, pulling the fragile bluenette protectively close, "Don't yell at Ken. So he didn't think that you might not want him there. He was scared and he's not used to sleeping alone."  
  
Takeru's blue eyes widened as his significant other took someone else's side.  
  
Anger overrode reason, and the blond lunged forward with a furious snarl, yanking the interloper's arm out towards him, expertly splitting the skin with his laser knife.  
  
Kens violet eyes widened with pain and betrayal and he pulled his arm to his chest, hugging it protectively close as if he was afraid that Takeru would cut it again.  
  
Takeru glared at the indigo haired mecha, mentally berating the thing for its stupidity. Didn't it realise he'd accomplished what he set out to do.  
  
It was obvious, just from the look on Daisuke's face that the damage had already been done. Daisuke had seen what had spilled from Ken's open cut... and it hadn't been blood.  
  
Takeru levelly met the eyes of the mecha, secure in the knowledge it was no longer a threat.  
  
Still he knew he was lucky. If Ken had been human, rather then the machine he could not help but be, Daisuke would have picked Ken.  
  
But Ken wasn't human, so Takeru was the only real choice. As heartless as they may have seemed, his actions were justified.  
  
Daisuke took a deep breath, then gave the two boys what was very obviously an artificial smile.  
  
"C'mon Ken, let's get that cut fixed up."  
  
The violet-eyed mecha offered his hand carefully, his eyes filled with an unbearable amount of trust.  
  
Daisuke gave another forced smile, and took the boys hand. The contact felt fake, unnatural... Somehow the knowledge that Ken was nothing more then a piece of equipment tainted everything he had said or done.  
  
Daisuke let the mecha snuggle into him as he always did, but for the first time, he wasn't overwhelmed with love for the boy in his arms.  
  
For the first time in his life... he felt nothing.  
  
~~~  
  
Hikari nodded in agreement. "That is a problem."  
  
"What should we do?"  
  
"What can you do?" The question was not patronising, nor even malevolent, it was simply, asked.  
  
"I... I don't know..." Miyako stared up at the beautiful mecha, even hours later unable to tear her eyes away.  
  
Hikari smiled down at the girl, affection for the fragile creature growing as they spoke, "Perhaps a story would help."  
  
Miyako grinned at her eagerly, throwing her arms around the smaller but sturdier girl, "Oh yes Hikari-sama! I should like that a lot."  
  
Hikari laughed softly at the girl's exuberant enthusiasm accepting the girls well meaning hug.  
  
"Sit with me, Miyako-chan, and I shall tell you about my husband, and the problems his construction of me created..."  
  
Miyako snuggled closer to the dark haired mecha, her soft brown eyes fixed adoringly on the other girl.  
  
Hikari slid an arm around the girl's slender shoulder, surprised by her attraction to the innocently entrancing creature,  
  
"It started when Yagami Hikari, the first wife of Kyver Seto passed away leaving the man broken-hearted, and stubbornly determined to find a way for the spirit of his wife to live forever..."  
  
~~~  
  
The atmosphere in the room was electric, as if there was a storm, which could break at any moment. Even Ken, who did not understand why, knew that something had changed. Some strange infinitely important element had changed, and the occupants of that room could never interact in the same way again.  
  
Ken stared at the red haired boy who was sitting across the room from him. His thoughts whirling in a way he'd never thought they could.  
  
His eyes flickered to the blond, who like himself was staring at the silent redhead. Takeru had yet to break the silence, perhaps because he too felt the awkwardness in the air.  
  
Abruptly the blond stood and left the room.  
  
Ken bit his lip, caught between what he wanted and what he needed.  
  
He stood and ran after the blond.  
  
"Takeru-sama. I need to know... what is wrong with Daisuke?" The blue- haired boy stared at the other beseechingly, violet eyes begging silently.  
  
Takeru laughed self-deprecatingly, "It's my fault. He fell hard for you Ken... but I'm not losing my boyfriend to some... pleasure appliance." His face held no hint of emotion, and he shrugged, "Something you might like to remember, toujours nous faisons mal á ces que nous adorons."  
  
Ken blinked in confusion, "What does that mean?"  
  
"We always hurt those that we love."  
  
Ken felt a strange sense of sadness at these words, as if they were a premonition of events that had yet to take place.  
  
"Why?" He asked.  
  
The blond merely shrugged again, "Why anything Ken? Maybe if you were human you'd understand that sometimes you can't understand."  
  
Ken turned, and for the first time in his short lifetime, he was ashamed of the tears that sprung to his eyes.  
  
~~~  
  
Yamato sighed, sinking to the ground,  
  
"This is hopeless."  
  
He wasn't tired, he did not require sleep. He wasn't hungry, he did not require sustenance.  
  
He felt empty.  
  
"There is nothing here for me."  
  
"Why not?" The voice was soft, almost curious, yet oddly uncaring.  
  
"Who...?"  
  
"I am Jenrya." The boy smiled almost proudly.  
  
Yamato surveyed him with a practised eye. Perfectly trimmed blue-black hair framed a pale visage. Clear grey eyes met his with proud alertness, and the boy's clothes showed that the boy was almost neurotically clean.  
  
"I'm Yamato." Yamato finally said.  
  
The boy circled him, appraising the blond as Yamato had appraised him before.  
  
"You are a beautiful boy..." He finally said with a smile, "Come."  
  
Yamato might perhaps have been suspicious, had he not already concluded that the boy was harmless. Slightly narcissistic, but harmless.  
  
"Where are we going?" He asked, falling into step with the admittedly exquisite boy.  
  
"To my home." He smiled, "It is clean, and beautiful. Worthy of a creature such as yourself... and others who are of our level of beauty."  
  
Had Yamato been human he might have been embarrassed or indignant, but being mecha he had long since accepted that no human could surpass the beauty or perfection of a robot created for that purpose.  
  
He inclined his head, accepting the tribute as his due, "I would be honoured to meet these others."  
  
The boy shrugged, "They are beautiful, and it is good to have beautiful things is it not? I shall introduce you."  
  
They walked in silence for well over an hour yet when the boy next spoke, it was as if it had been mere seconds, time seemingly irrelevant to the immortal machine.  
  
"In here."  
  
Yamato followed the black-haired boy into the cavern, and made a slight cry of surprised when the cavern, which had turned out to be a tunnel, abruptly stopped leaving the two boys standing in an oasis, the like of which the blond had never seen before.  
  
"You are beautiful..." The voice was hesitant, yet at the same time sure. Young, yet old. A tiny pale white hand reached up to caress his face, and the girl, who like the green eyed mecha he had seen in the desert, had been created to resemble a child, held her arms up expectantly. Unlike the boy, however, she was clean and beautifully dressed, a perfect doll-like shell, which did not look a day older then 5.  
  
Yamato picked her up, and she smiled at him. Everything he had noticed about her seemed contradictory, and her smile was no exception. It was both cold and warm.  
  
"Shuichon!" Jenrya admonished the girl, "That is not beautiful behaviour. I should not like to think of you as ugly."  
  
The girl schooled her face into an expression of uncaring concern, "I should not like that."  
  
Her brown eyes met his blue, and she said, quite coldly,  
  
"I should like to be put down now. I need to brush my hair, and you are quite dirty. Would you like a mirror?"  
  
"I... I suppose..." Yamato replied dropping the little girl as gently as possible.  
  
Her brown eyes ran over him again, "Jenrya, he is quite dirty. I should not like to see him again until he is clean."  
  
Without another word the girl turned her back on the two boys, walked two paces and began brushing her hair, their new guest already forgotten.  
  
Jenrya gave the young girl a thoughtful look,  
  
"She has much to learn. But she is beautiful, so we will not damage her. Beauty should not be destroyed."  
  
Yamato was unable to speak, so he merely nodded.  
  
"She was correct however, in saying that you are dirty. I shall bathe you, and dress you as befits your beauty. Come Yamato."  
  
With a feeling of slight discomfort to the thought of clothes, which befitted his beauty, Yamato followed the enticing creature towards the bath he had been promised.  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki ran a hand through her hair, despite the ponytail she somehow managed to pull the gesture off without looking completely moronic. In fact, she seemed to look rather stylish.  
  
"Kazu," She snapped, "Water. Now."  
  
Kazu threw her the canteen he'd been carrying.  
  
Ruki's violet-grey eyes coldly glared at the mecha they had found, while the girl pouted up at them.  
  
"I know you're the mecha hunters, but we are the beautiful ones," The girl informed her obstinately.  
  
Ruki sighed, they'd been going over this ever since they'd managed to find the wretched creature, who did not look wretched at all.  
  
"We're the mecha hunters. We hunt mecha's. That's life."  
  
"No. You hunt the ugly ones, who do not deserve to look upon beauty. We live out our lives undisturbed..." The girl paused mid sentence, "Does anyone have a mirror. I think I've got a hair out of place."  
  
Ruki had heard of the 'beautiful ones' before, but she'd never come across them, nor heard of anyone who had, therefore she felt more then a little out of her league.  
  
Finally, she dismounted, and offered the girl her compact. "I'm Ruki, leader of this rider group."  
  
The girl smiled, accepting the proffered mirror.  
  
"I am Mimi," She inclined her head, "You are beautiful."  
  
Ruki for some indescribable reason felt a sense of pride at these words. She, of course, had no idea this was the highest complement that Mimi could have payed her.  
  
The girl handed back the mirror,  
  
"I hope to see you again, jewel amongst humans..." The girl turned and a few seconds later had vanished, whether because she moved at an inhuman speed or had the ability to produce holograms Ruki didn't know, but she was suddenly glad she'd let the exquisitely beautiful creature go.  
  
The trouble burning her would have brought wasn't worth it.  
  
She was only a mecha after all.  
  
~~~  
  
Yamato stepped out of the lake the black haired boy had led him to, sighing as the pleasantly scented water slid down his body in tiny rivulets.  
  
Beside the lake where he'd been bathing he could see a girl kneeling; her face hidden by a curtain of silky golden hair.  
  
Her body seemed the epitome of womanly perfection, from what he could see, which considering the amount of skin her pure white robe showed, was quite a lot.  
  
She looked up briefly, as if evaluating his appearance, then smiled, gracefully standing to sway over to him.  
  
Her voice was low, with an undertone of seduction, or perhaps it was only conceitedness. Yamato found it hard to tell the difference sometimes.  
  
"'Ello," She said in her softly accented voice, "I saw you across the oasis, and I thought to myself 'That is a beautiful boy, he must be related to me'." She said all this with no trace of humility, a bright smile plastered across her face, "I 'ave brothers who look just like you. 'Oo was your creator?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Yamato replied, slightly overwhelmed by the girl.  
  
"...It matters not." The girl said dismissively. "I am Narcissa."  
  
"I'm Yamato." Yamato replied.  
  
The girl gave no reply. When Yamato followed her gaze to try and work out why, he realised she'd been caught by her reflection in the lake.  
  
Jenrya noticed the two standing together and smiled.  
  
"Narcissa is beautiful is she not?"  
  
"... Yes, beautiful," Yamato agreed after a moment.  
  
"I had to rewrite her programming because she is so beautiful. She tried to destroy herself when she realised she would never find another as attractive as herself. She was made to procreate, but her initial command was to produce children as attractive as she herself is. A task that with a human male would be impossible."  
  
Yamato blinked in surprise, he had always known that humans were not as beautiful as the mecha's they created, yet he had never considered them inferior...  
  
Jenrya smiled, "Here, I have brought clothes."  
  
Mat quickly pulled the clothes on. They clung in places, and billowed in others. Silk he identified, soft, deep blue silk, the exact colour of his eyes.  
  
He caught sight of his reflection and felt his breath catch.  
  
"You look beautiful." Jenrya said almost smugly.  
  
"I do..." Yamato agreed wonderingly, unable to tear his eyes away. Suddenly living out his life in the desert didn't seem like such a bad thing.  
  
All thoughts of Taichi and the promise he'd almost made disappeared from his head as he stared entranced at his own reflection.  
  
Jenrya paused, then picked up his mirror and walked away.  
  
The oasis was even more beautiful than before.  
  
~~~  
  
Takeru looked up and wiped the sweat from his brow, giving Daisuke his most dazzling smile, "Hey good-looking."  
  
"What are you doing?" Daisuke asked curiously, watching as the blond jiggled the doorknob to their bedroom.  
  
"I just put a lock on the door so that we don't get interrupted during our, ehem, private activities," He gave the red head a suggestive wink.  
  
Daisuke's brow crinkled, "But... what about Ken?"  
  
"What about Ken?" Takeru repeated.  
  
"What if he gets... I dunno... scared or something?"  
  
"Daisuke, when was the last time you saw a mecha get scared?" Takeru asked exasperated, "Honestly babe..."  
  
Daisuke mock-glared at the blond, "Are you insulting my intelligence TN?"  
  
"That's TK thickie..." Takeru replied playfully, pulling the redhead in for a kiss.  
  
Ken walked in, spotted the two kissing, and without even realising what he was doing, left the room.  
  
Confused thoughts swirled through his head faster then a speeding hovercraft, Why were Daisuke and Takeru kissing?...  
  
'maybe if you were human'...  
  
'wasn't that programmed into you?'...  
  
'Please Blue Fairy, make me a real boy.'  
  
"...I don't understand," He whispered thickly, "Daisuke loves me, not Takeru... right?"  
  
His violet eyes fluttered closed; the idea that his love was not returned did not fit within the parameters of his programming.  
  
~~~  
  
Momoe pulled a face at the sight of Miyako snuggling up to the First Mecha, child-like adoration blatantly obvious.  
  
She'd had a great deal of respect for the lavender-haired scientist who'd lost her fiancée at such a young age.  
  
Along with the steel-like control the scientific technician had displayed over her emotions, the girl also had a great deal of intelligence, was honest and indisputably reliable.  
  
Momoe sighed, she'd thought of the girl like a younger sister... perhaps she should give some sisterly advice.  
  
Love cannot transcend all barriers, and the barrier that exists between organic and synthetic is the strongest barrier in existence.  
  
Regardless of the mecha's apparent intelligence and sensitivity, she could not operate outside the limitations of her programming.  
  
And when Momoe informed her lilac-haired 'younger sister' of this, the girl would return to behaving like the gifted and dependable scientist she truly was.  
  
~~~  
  
Callused fingers trailed across previously untouched skin, Daisuke's lips softly captured the other boys, and Ken let out a soft sound of enjoyment.  
  
Clothes seemed to melt away like the unwanted obstructions they were, beneath the redhead's skilled fingers.  
  
Lips grinding against lips, bodies grinding against bodies, fingers entwining as the two lovers kissed, gasping at the new sensations the experience brought.  
  
Ken mewed, his body almost protesting against Daisuke's gently administrations, as he spoke his thoughts aloud,  
  
"Is this love?"  
  
Daisuke didn't answer, continuing his exploration of the slender boy's thin chest, his tongue flicking to caress the boy's nipples.  
  
"Daisuke..." Ken moaned, he felt as though he would explode at the sensations the other boy was bringing him, his body thrumming with love, "Say you love me..."  
  
Daisuke smiled, running a hand through Ken's soft blond hair,  
  
"I love you Takeru..."  
  
... Ken sat up with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. The bright green numbers showing the time read 2:38 AM.  
  
He swiped his eyes almost guiltily and gazed towards Daisuke's bedroom door, trying hard to keep the tears at bay.  
  
Takeru had installed the lock a few days ago, and Daisuke had given him a bear in case he got lonely.  
  
Ken hugged the bear closer, still staring mournfully at the locked door.  
  
He had changed, he knew, from whatever he once had been, to a broken creature ashamed of his own tears. Ken lay his head against the couch, never once taking his eyes off the door.  
  
He knew from past experiences that if he waited long enough the redhead would be out to greet him good morning.  
  
~~~  
  
Mimi carefully straightened the pale rose pink gown she was wearing, and ran her fingers through her hair to rid it of tangles and allow every hair to fall into its correct position.  
  
It certainly would not do for Jenrya to see her looking unbeautiful, he might become displeased, and if he did not believe she made the oasis beautiful... the brunette shuddered, dismissing the thought as ridiculous.  
  
She must look beautiful to be a good role model for Shiuchon, her young protégé.  
  
Smiling with vapid intelligence, Mimi entered the oasis, her footsteps hesitant but sure as she gazed around the oasis.  
  
Jenrya sat, commandingly aloof, his beautiful face perfectly lit by the sunlit that filtered into the oasis.  
  
"Ma belle Mimi. You have returned at last," Jenrya's soft voice traversed the distance between them, easily reaching Mimi's ears.  
  
"Jenrya..." Mimi stared at the boy, unable to take her eyes off the silk- clad leader of the beautiful ones.  
  
The dark, almost navy blue silk complemented his hair and eyes perfectly, offset flawlessly by the silver threads woven through the silk.  
  
"Shiuchon will be pleased to see you," Jenrya said smiling beatifically as he broke the spell he had created.  
  
As if cued by his words, Shiuchon appeared from nowhere, holding her arms up towards Mimi.  
  
The brunette picked up the child, marvelling once more at her doll-like beauty. The younger girl's dress was a pink only a few shades darker then her idols, trimmed with a flattering golden yellow, which gave the girls clothing an original flair.  
  
"You have been gone a long time," The girl observed, almost chastisingly, but oddly indifferent, for of course, time held no sway over the lives of these mecha's.  
  
"Yes," Mimi replied distractedly, allowing the younger girl to slip from her arms, "Perhaps later I will help you to become more beautiful."  
  
Her brown eyes sought out the lake and froze.  
  
Placidly braiding Narcissa's hair was a mecha who could easily rival Jenrya in looks. His blond hair danced in the soft breeze in the oasis, and the form fitting deep blue silk he was wearing did everything to flatter his figure.  
  
The oasis was even more beautiful then before.  
  
Mimi padded towards the lake, and let her pale pink dress slip to the ground as she waded into the beautifying water of the oasis.  
  
Her curious brown eyes only left the beautiful newcomer when she caught sight of her reflection in Narcissa's jewel-encrusted mirror, which lay temptingly on the lakebed at her feet.  
  
~~~  
  
Taichi smiled wistfully as he watched the children playing on the street outside of his apartment. Takato's light sandy brown hair seemed to defy gravity, tamed only by the goggles he had taken to wearing on his head after seeing Tai's almost unique fashion statement.  
  
Juri giggled clapping her hands as Takato won his game against the blond haired boy he'd been playing against.  
  
"Ha! Takato beat you again Michael!"  
  
Taichi sighed, the blond reminding him of Yamato.  
  
It wasn't that the boy actually looked like Yamato... not at all. He was repugnant, where Yamato was perfect formed.  
  
Taichi turned away from the window in disgust, in fact that blond was nauseating!  
  
Why he'd even briefly associated him with the beautiful and talented mecha he loved he could not fathom.  
  
Angrily he gathered up his jacket and money, just wait till he gave that Michael a piece of his mind.  
  
"The cheek of him, reminding *me* of Yamato!" Taichi muttered fiercely, stomping angrily down the stairs.  
  
He was almost appeased when he saw Michael flinch away from him as he finished his tirade. And when Takato, whom Taichi had met earlier, congratulated him on 'giving the lousy know-it-all what for' Taichi found himself smiling happily for the first time since he'd left Yamato behind.  
  
~~~  
  
Hirokazu, better known as Kazu, second in command to Ruki, leader of the second company of riders, laughed uproariously at Asuka's recount of events as the red haired girl pantomimed the actions for the half of the company who sat around the fire with her.  
  
The two youngest members of the company, Meiling and Li had already retired to their shared tent and Ruki was, apparently, conveying the details of their scout to Ryo. It was Kazu's personal opinion that the girl was actually making up for lost time by giving the head of the mecha hunters the night of his life.  
  
He leant back against the log and slung an arm around Kenta as the dark haired boy snuggled into his side, sleepily.  
  
He smirked at the only other observer of Asuka's performance, Kaji, who winked in return, and made an encouraging if somewhat impolite suggestion with hand gestures.  
  
Kazu looked at the sleeping boy and gave Kaji a mournful look, "He's asleep, I can't," He mouthed.  
  
Kazu got on quite well with the oldest member of their little troupe, as neither of them could fully control their hormones.  
  
Kaji rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the scantily clad Asuka.  
  
"You know Asuka, you look a little tired... perhaps we should go to bed?"  
  
Kazu hid his smirk as he scooped Kenta up, marvelling at his own strength.  
  
"We'd better get to bed too," He grinned, "Kenta's already falling asleep on me..." He waved cheerfully to the pair who were heading towards their own tent and carried the boy back to the tent they shared, congratulating himself as the other boy pressed closer to his warm body.  
  
~~~  
  
Ken smiled at Daisuke as the boy entered the room dressed and ready to face the day,  
  
"Good morning Daisuke."  
  
"Erm, Hey Ken," The redhead said through a yawn.  
  
Takeru followed him into the room, wrapping his arms around the other boy possessively.  
  
"I was waiting for you to wake up."  
  
Takeru snorted, "I know. You've done the same thing every morning since I put the lock on our door. You really don't have any purpose if there aren't humans around do you?"  
  
Daisuke glared at the blond, "Takeru!" He said sharply, then his voice softened as he turned to look at the bluenette, "Would you like to come to breakfast with us Ken?"  
  
Kens violet eyes filled with warmth, "Yes Daisuke."  
  
Takeru pouted, "Dai-chan..."  
  
Daisuke rolled his eyes, "Jeez TZ, anyone would think you were jealous."  
  
Takeru pouted, then laughingly kissed his boyfriend, taking sadistic pleasure in the hurt that Ken displayed.  
  
Ha. That would teach the stupid mecha to try to steal his boyfriend.  
  
Daisuke wrapped an arm around Takeru's waist.  
  
"C'mon then Ken. Lets get going."  
  
Despondently the bluenette followed the couple out the door, it had been three days since Daisuke touched him in any way shape or form, and having a photographic memory Ken couldn't help but remember the look on his face the last time they'd touched.  
  
Daisuke had recoiled from his fingers as if the other boy was repulsive. Ken trailed after the two, Daisuke was still being nice, but it seemed forced... As if he didn't love Ken at all.  
  
Ken looked up at the other two.  
  
"Come on Ken, you're being slow again," Daisuke teased.  
  
Ken increased his pace; that was ridiculous, of course Daisuke still loved him.  
  
~~~  
  
The sun was high in the sky, nearing midday although it was hard to tell through the trees that covered the sky of the oasis.  
  
Yamato pulled his eyes away from the mirror with considerable difficulty, he truly was a beautiful creature.  
  
Narcissa sat near the lake in her customary spot. While she was quite possibly the most egotistical of the beautiful one's, she had had her moments and of course she was beautiful. It had been enjoyable to form a mutual admiration society.  
  
Her hair was still braided thanks to his earlier efforts, and she had changed her gown to an even scantier shift of the same pure white.  
  
Shiuchon was brushing the hair of an older female mecha who was wearing a pale pink gown of the same design as Narcissa's.  
  
Her doe brown eyes landed on his, and for a moment he could feel himself drowning. Her lips twitched into a warm smile, and she beckoned to him.  
  
Carefully Yamato walked over to the brunette, and seated himself in front of her.  
  
"Shiuchon, enough." She commanded imperiously, "I am Mimi."  
  
"I'm Yamato."  
  
She nodded, "I thought you might be. You are as beautiful as Jenrya claims."  
  
"...Thank you." Yamato said after a moment of silence.  
  
She shrugged, "It is merely a truth."  
  
Yamato nodded unsurely.  
  
"Come, walk with me. I would talk with you if you would."  
  
"Of course Mimi..." He replied.  
  
Mimi laughed, "You are altogether too agreeable fair one."  
  
Yamato did not have a chance to reply before the girl continued talking quite fluently about the beauty of the oasis and its inhabitants. Lee Jenrya and Shiuchon, the lovely Narcissa, Willis - who had been missing for nearly a month, and the two mecha's who came and went as they pleased, Ootoshi Takehito and Tomikaji Hiroko.  
  
~~~  
  
Miyako gazed up at the girl who cradled her so protectively,  
  
"But... Doesn't it hurt?"  
  
"I do not... understand," Hikari replied, confusion evident.  
  
"To know that no matter how much you loved him, he would die, and you would live on for another thousand years."  
  
"Perhaps it might..." Hikari shrugged, a little uncomfortably, "But I do not know what it is to hurt."  
  
Miyako blinked, "If I was to die, right here in your arms, what would you do? How would you feel?"  
  
Hikari's face clouded, and for the first time Miyako saw her as something that wasn't perfect, "I do not know. The scenario has not been programmed..."  
  
Miyako dropped her head, feeling pain knife through her like a lance. This was stupid, she knew Hikari was a mecha.  
  
Hikari tilted the girl's face up, and brushed away a tear, then, for the first time did something she had not been programmed to do, and kissed the lavender-haired girl on her upturned lips.  
  
"Don't cry Miyako... Miya-chan. If you were to die right now, I would... rewrite my programming so that I could destroy your murderer. Then I would recreate you as my companion, so that I would never lose you..."  
  
Miyako blushed, "I have known you for less then a day..." She replied timidly.  
  
"I love you Innoue Miyako. You will be mine and I yours for all eternity."  
  
Momoe opened her mouth to butt in, but before she could, Miyako said the only words that could stop her.  
  
"Gods help me Hikari-chan, I love you too. I want you to make me your companion, so that I will never die and leave you."  
  
Momoe blinked, the real Yagami Hikari had died over a thousand years ago, yet somehow the universe had provided a way for the two soulmates to be together.  
  
Perhaps sometimes love could surpass all boundaries, destroy all obstacles, perhaps sometimes, love was all you needed.  
  
~~~  
  
Ken sighed as he watched Takeru hand-feed Daisuke, brushing his fingers against the redhead's lips in a seductively innocent manner.  
  
Violet eyes closed in dismay, Ken would dream of feeding Daisuke tonight, and Daisuke would call him Takeru.  
  
Daisuke kissed Takeru's fingertips then pulled away to look at Ken,  
  
"Ken, are you feeling okay?" He asked, then laughed, "I'm sorry, I mean, there isn't anything wrong with your... systems or whatever. You look kinda sad."  
  
"I am simply... thinking." Ken replied, more hurt then he would have thought by Daisuke's comment.  
  
Takeru snorted, and turned Daisuke's face back to his, kissing the redhead thoroughly while the bluenette watched on in tortured obligation.  
  
~~~  
  
Willis stepped into the oasis, his arrival timed to take perfect advantage of the sun, which would filter through the trees to glint off his perfect golden hair and draw all eyes to him.  
  
His arrival had been well planned, and would have drawn all eyes to him, had his position not been usurped by the blond mecha who sat in the middle of the huddle of girls, allowing them to brush his perfect gold hair.  
  
Jenrya looked down at him from his dais, and for a moment a hint of a frown crossed his face,  
  
"Willis, you are not *as* beautiful as we have remembered."  
  
Willis felt the ground beneath him sway, who here was more beautiful then he?  
  
Yamato stepped towards him, offering a hand in greeting,  
  
"You must be Willis. Hi, I'm Yamato."  
  
His speech was not... beautiful.  
  
Willis spun on his heel, refusing to take the blonds hand.  
  
"He is not beautiful, he does not think as a beautiful one," Willis told them sulkily.  
  
Narcissa stood, and swept towards him, for a moment he thought she was planning to caress his hair as per her usual gesture and therefore it came as a shock when the silver-haired mecha slapped him hard across the face.  
  
"If you again insult my cousin I will dismember you, for there is none here as beautiful as he, save for myself."  
  
Willis blinked in shock.  
  
Mimi nodded, "He has replaced you in every way."  
  
"You no longer make the oasis beautiful. Leave." Jenrya's word was as law, and Willis knew a command when he heard one.  
  
Bitterness rose in him and Willis spun on his heel,  
  
"You have been fooled, and I call you fools. He will never be as beautiful as I."  
  
Shuichon laughed coldly, "You are ugly Willis. Ugly."  
  
~~~  
  
Ken tossed uneasily as the details of his dream cruelly taunted him as he stirred from his slumber. Slipping out from under the blanket Daisuke had given him Ken carefully made his way to Daisuke's bedroom.  
  
The door opened noiselessly and Ken's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him.  
  
Daisuke lay on the bed, back arched as Takeru spread his legs, his nails raking Daisuke's perfect golden hued skin, leaving ugly red marks.  
  
The red head whimpered, biting back louder cries of passion as the blond lowered his mouth to worship Daisuke's growing erection.  
  
Unable to hold back the cry as he came Daisuke let out a loud yelp, half of pain, half of pleasure as Takeru sadistically nipped as he swallowed.  
  
Ken was galvanised to action by Daisuke's yelp of pain, angry that anyone would touch his love with the intent to harm.  
  
"Takeru!" He yelled angrily, pulling the blond away from the boy he loved.  
  
Takeru turned to see Ken, and growled low in his throat as the hatred in the pit of his stomach flared to life.  
  
"What the hell are you doing in here mecha? Don't you understand orders! This is my bedroom!"  
  
Ken answered with a furious wail of his own,  
  
"How dare you hurt Daisuke!"  
  
Takeru's fist connected with Ken's eye,  
  
"Shut the fuck up mecha."  
  
Ken looked over at Daisuke who'd pulled the blankets around him.  
  
"Ken, I want you to leave. Takeru and I need to talk, and I don't think it's your place to be in here."  
  
Ken's eyes met his, that unbearably naïve trust all too evident,  
  
"Yes Daisuke."  
  
Daisuke watched the boy leave the room. Three years later he finally understood the saying Tai had once used. He supposed this was a prime example of being trapped between a rock and a hard place.  
  
Perhaps Ken did love him, but he was, after all, only a machine. A machine who had just tried to damage Takeru after walking in on them making love.  
  
Perhaps Takeru was right. Perhaps the three of them couldn't coexist in peaceful harmony.  
  
~~~  
  
Willis knew the desert, knew the hills and plains like the back of his exquisitely crafted hand. He had frequented the wastelands for close to 20 years now, unchanging, as even the landscape could not be.  
  
He could see the glint of the moon on the sea of despair to the far east, soon the sun would rise above that glittering sea.  
  
To the west, a further distance than that to the sea, was the City of Angels, a city almost as dangerous as Galar'iel, in its own way.  
  
One foot fell in front of the other mechanically. Willis sighed, if he kept walking, he'd end up walking straight into the encampment of the mecha hunters.  
  
Perhaps they would be merciful and end his life quickly, for if he was now ugly, it was his duty to uphold the beauty of the wastelands.  
  
It was his duty to find the hunters and ask them to utterly destroy all traces of his imperfect being.  
  
~~~  
  
"...Well Daisuke?" Takeru's simple question had not asked anything, yet conveyed everything, as Takeru's questions always did.  
  
"Perhaps you're right..." Daisuke conceded.  
  
"Of course I am. I love you Daisuke, and I'm willing to put up with a lot to be with you, but I'm not going to be treated like I'm second to a machine Dai, because that isn't fair, not to me, not to you, and not even to it."  
  
"What!?" Daisuke asked anxiously, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm not going to live here with you and that machine, while you pretend it's a 'friend', catering to it's whims and ignoring the worshipful looks it bestows upon you. It's not healthy, not for you to be put under the pressure of pretending. Not for me to come second to a machine. And not for it to be treated as if it really is human. My mother tried this experiment, and if you continue it, your pet mecha is going to go insane."  
  
"But Take-chan..." Daisuke objected shakily.  
  
Takeru rested a hand lightly on his lovers shoulder, "I know that you like the machine Dais, but in the end, that's all he is. He only cares about you because he was programmed to do so. I'm telling you this because I love you Dai-chan, anyone can rewrite programming, I don't want you to get hurt when that inevitably happens... Ken is only a mecha Daisuke. He doesn't love anyone, least of all you. I'm your boyfriend of nearly 5 years, and I've been your friend for even longer. I know you'll make the right decision."  
  
Daisuke let his eyes close as his head fell forward to rest lightly against his blond haired lovers.  
  
"...You're right Takeru. So what do we do now?"  
  
~~~  
  
"Why me?" Ruki growled, her question directed at nobody in particular.  
  
"Hunter?" The blond repeated softly, still on his knees.  
  
Ruki glared down at the mecha, destroying the wretched creatures, which littered the wastelands was one thing. Purposefully obliterating a thing of beauty pointlessly was quite another.  
  
"Get up. Ryo will decide what will be done with you."  
  
Gracefully the blond stood his head lowered in submission, "As you wish... beautiful one."  
  
Ruki shifted uncomfortably at the title, she had never considered herself beautiful, although she knew many others did. With her fiery hair and violet grey eyes she'd always been able to use her looks to her own advantage... but to be recognised for them? By one of the beautiful ones, a creature of legend: Definitely awkward.  
  
Kazu prodded the mecha forward, "Care to do the honours Captain?"  
  
Ruki nodded, the hint of a smile tugging at her mouth, "Hunters, Let's move out!"  
  
~~~  
  
"Ken... you have to stay here," Daisuke's voice broke slightly on the last word.  
  
"When will you come back for me?" Ken asked, with the childlike innocence of one who cannot comprehend abandonment. Despite everything else that had happened, Ken honestly believed that Daisuke could never left him for good.  
  
"Never you stupid robot. He's never coming back for you," Takeru spat angrily.  
  
Ken blinked up at Daisuke in confusion,  
  
"What did I do wrong?"  
  
"I... Nothing Ken. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just; well..." Daisuke tried to explain.  
  
"You're not real Ken. You'll never be real and we're sick of you pretending you are." Takeru finished for Daisuke.  
  
"Takeru!" Daisuke cried horrified, "Don't say that. It's just, well, now that Takeru's awake, well, I think you should go find someone else to stay with."  
  
Kens eyes crinkled in confusion,  
  
"No Daisuke, I have to stay with you. I love you."  
  
"You're a mecha. You don't love anybody," Takeru used the same argument he'd used on Daisuke earlier, "Go and find somebody who isn't already taken to love."  
  
Ken looked from one to the other fear creeping into his eyes,  
  
"Daisuke I'm scared. Can we go home now?"  
  
"I..." Daisuke stepped backwards, "I..."  
  
"Sure," Takeru said sweetly, "We can go home, but first you have to get a flower for Daisuke, okay Ken?"  
  
Ken smiled,  
  
"If I get Dai a flower we can go home?" He affirmed.  
  
Takeru nodded, trying not to smirk.  
  
Ken stared down at the ground. Nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, no sign of any flowers.  
  
He was so engrossed in his search that he didn't hear the soft hum of Daisuke and Takeru's hover craft starting up.  
  
It was only after he'd found the tiny purple desert weed that Takeru had instructed him to give to Daisuke that he realised the other two had already gone.  
  
And that they had left him behind.  
  
-~O~-  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Authors Notes: Perhaps sometimes love can surpass all boundaries, destroy all obstacles, perhaps sometimes, love is all you need. But not very often. Sometimes even all the love in the world isn't enough to make a relationship work.  
  
In real life happy endings don't always follow tragedy, and sometimes there are no villains, or no happy endings, only victims.  
  
Please Read & Review: I worked very hard on this chapter, and I'd appreciate hearing what you have to say. 


	3. Part Three

Title: Till Eternity  
  
Author: FireDemon  
  
Email: Ken_Dai_Love@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: R  
  
Warnings: This fic contains YAOI, meaning two hot guys going down on each other, if that disturbs you; well you've been warned. There's a little shoujo-ai (girl love) that I wasn't expecting to write! It gets a little limey in parts, but that's about as descriptive as it's gonna get. It's also very angsty; unrequited love and all that. There are a few words in Japanese and French; predominantly suffixes for Japanese, and all French will be translated. Oh, and let's not forget the always-popular 'coarse language'. Hopefully that about covers it.  
  
Category: Romance, Angst, and Science Fiction.  
  
Summary: AU. Ken is the prototype for a new generation of robots, designed to love one person, and one person alone. Daisuke is a thief whose curiosity is likely to get him killed. When the bumbling Dai accidentally activates Kens program heartache inevitably follows, because Daisuke, after all, is only human. And Ken isn't. **Kensuke**  
  
iFor Beth, who showed me that love hurts. For Ken, who made me laugh when I wanted to cry. And for Krystle; all my love.i  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Artificial Intelligence (The Movie) from which I have stolen many ideas and quotes. Not quite enough to make it a parody (partly because I haven't watched the movie in ages, and partly because by the time I got halfway through this fic it suddenly developed an original plot out of nowhere. *Glares at Takeru and Yamato who suddenly got a whole lot deeper then I'd intended to write them*.) I do not own any robots. This may also be a little similar to girlstarfish's "Heist" series, which I truly enjoyed reading, but do not own either. Anyone who hasn't read it, I highly recommend it. There is also a line I accidentally stole (I collect quotes from everywhere, and then use them and have to go back and try to source them) from Draco Sinister by Cassandra Claire.  
  
Authors Notes: This chapter deals with major discrimination issues. It deals with the intrinsic nature of humans, so please don't yell at me when you reach the end and tell me I should have written a happy ending, it would ruin the tone of this story, if you want happy endings, go read my fluffs.  
  
For those of you who asked for a happy ending (not mentioning any names K- koi) I will be writing an additional chapter (Beyond Infinity) - which will be happier - but it will not be posted as part of this fic. I didn't write Till Eternity to give it a happy ending, I wrote it to make a point that a happy ending would ruin. Please Read and Review. Domo Arigato.  
  
Sora knelt down next to the indigo haired mecha, and ran a hand over the boy's body.  
  
"Is it alive?" Iori asked curiously.  
  
"I do not know..." Sora replied as she lifted up one of the eyelids to peer at the eyes.  
  
"Why is it here? It certainly looks as if it's in working order."  
  
"Yes. And a newer model if I am not mistaken... Perhaps its programming is faulty?" She suggested letting the eyelid drop back into place.  
  
"Perhaps it was damaged inside?" Iori suggested, his eyes flickering to the mecha's lower half.  
  
"The mecha hunters will be here soon. If it is truly inoperative we can sell its parts to the scavengers." With that the auburn haired mecha picked up Ken and slung him over her shoulder.  
  
Together the two mecha's set off, mechanically plodding across the desert, no fatigue evident.  
  
As the sun set over the desert Ken began to stir, coming to wakefulness still slung over Sora's shoulder.  
  
"Where am I?" He asked.  
  
Sora set him on his feet.  
  
"So you are not dysfunctional. I am Sora, this is Iori," She grinned, showing her toothless gums, "We saved you from the mecha hunters. She leaned forward and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear in a motherly fashion.  
  
"I'm Ken," Ken told the two, looking from one to the other.  
  
"Nice to meet you Ken," Iori smiled, "where are you from?"  
  
"The City," Ken told him, "Daisuke's apartment."  
  
Sora winced and quickly silenced Iori before he could comment.  
  
"Well now you hail from the desert little one." She drew him closer, "We will look after you, never you fear."  
  
Ken blushed,  
  
"Thank you."  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey Takato," Tai hailed the boy.  
  
"Taichi!" The boy cried exuberantly, dragging his best friend after him, "The carnival will be here on Saturday!"  
  
"And Ruki will be here!" Added Juri excitedly, "You'll love her Taichi!"  
  
Taichi smiled tolerantly at the two children. He'd fast become a friend to the two, despite the large gap in their ages. The younger boy, Takato, reminded him of Daisuke, though he was sweeter in temperament then the redhead had ever been.  
  
"And we'll get to see the mecha's burn. It's so funny!" Takato crowed.  
  
Taichi winced, or perhaps not. It had taken him a while to grow accustomed to the attitude of the people towards mecha's, and even now he wished he could change the children's minds about them.  
  
He thought back to the mecha's he'd seen in the wastelands, and realised that those were probably the only mecha's these children had ever seen.  
  
"Perhaps..." He agreed distractedly.  
  
"Ruki's in charge of one of the riders groups!" Juri informed him, "and she promised she'd come see me. One day Takato and I are going to join the hunters, right Takato. And we'll be just like Ryo and Ruki!"  
  
Tai nodded, he still didn't really understand the concept of the mecha hunters, but he nodded at everything the children said, not wanting to draw attention to himself as an outsider.  
  
Besides, it wasn't really that important.  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki ruthlessly squelched the hint of jealousy that clawed for recognition as she watched Ryo fawn over the beautiful blond she'd returned with.  
  
Beautiful, yes, but not A Beautiful One.  
  
Willis looked over to see the red haired hunter who had refused to destroy him, the hunter who had instead presented him to her commanding officer, Ryo.  
  
Idly he mused over the boy, or rather, the man. He was tall, yet not exceptionally so, attractive, handsome even, yet not beautiful.  
  
He was lean yet he lacked the willowy build characteristic of the beautiful ones, his hair was wind-blown and tussled, and his eyes a mottled blue- green. No, this man could never be one of the beautiful ones, but he was not... ugly.  
  
This revelation was startling, and Willis could not help but study the man, his lack of beauty made him unusual, perhaps even unique...  
  
Blue eyes blinked in startled surprise, after so many years of being one of the beautiful ones and sharing their collective consciousness the emptiness scared him, the philosophies his thoughts were producing scared him, and the knowledge that he was no longer beautiful made him long for death.  
  
Death that only the unbeautiful leader of the mecha hunters could grant.  
  
~~~  
  
Daisuke looked around the room, Takeru was in the garage, working, as he had a different schedule to his mahogany haired lover, and Daisuke felt almost... lonely.  
  
It wasn't that he missed Ken. Ken had been nothing but a robot... and besides, he was better off out there where he wasn't being brainwashed into believing he was human.  
  
He missed Takeru; that was it. There was no way that he felt relieved to be away from Takeru's smothering presence, away from Takeru's jealous insinuations and occasional spiteful remarks.  
  
No, he was glad he was finally able to spend some time with his best friend and lover without constantly having to worry about Ken, as if he had an extra boyf... child.  
  
He was content; he had a loving boyfriend. It didn't matter that occasionally he wanted to kill the blonde, because that was how relationships with real people were meant to be.  
  
They weren't supposed to be all strawberries and cream.  
  
~~~  
  
"He loves me, I know he loves me..." Ken told Sora, who had practically adopted the childlike mecha.  
  
Sora's mechanical eye filled with pity, as she forced herself to utter the words she desperately did not want to say,  
  
"Then why did he abandon you Ken-chan?"  
  
"I..." Ken began, "I... He... He must have had a reason. Perhaps... Maybe... Because he... he wants me to find the blue fairy and ask her to make me a real boy. If I'm a real boy, Takeru can't say I'm just pretending to be human. And Daisuke will choose me. I know he wanted to choose me. He loves me!"  
  
"Do you really believe that?" Sora asked, studying Ken's face. She wilted visibly, "Of course you do." She sighed, "Then we shall find your blue fairy Ken-chan, so you can wish for humanity."  
  
Ken smiled softly, embracing the girl as he would have his mother, had he had one, "Thank you Sora-chan."  
  
Sora exhaled the breath she'd been holding with a shrug, "I can do no less."  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki was mad, furious even, and her riders had learnt a long time ago that when Ruki was mad, everyone within a 5-mile radius suffered the consequences.  
  
Her grey-violet eyes shone with rage as she paced the confines of her tent; she shouldn't be jealous. Ryo had told her when they'd first started... 'seeing' each other that it wasn't a forever thing.  
  
He'd said he loved her, that she was beautiful and talented and far too good for him.  
  
Ruki picked up the closest breakable item, a photograph of her and Ryo at her nineteenth birthday and threw it as hard as she could at the ground.  
  
The frame bounced, but the glass merely fractured slightly, taunting her as the picture could still be clearly seen.  
  
With a frustrated cry Ruki brought her foot down on the picture. She was almost satisfied when it shattered beneath her boot-clad foot.  
  
Yes he'd said it wasn't a forever thing, but forever was still a hell of a long way off.  
  
Her mirror winked at her from the corner of her room and she strode over to it, her expression fierce. More then one person had called her vain because she seemed overly fond of mirrors...  
  
Ruki brought her fist back and punched the mirror. Glass shattered and fell around her like rain, and seeing her reflection in the hundreds of broken pieces of glass gave Ruki an odd gratification...  
  
"You realise breaking a mirror will give you 7 years bad luck?" A voice asked curiously.  
  
Ruki spun to meet the inquisitive eyes of Asuka; sweet, pretty, sometimes stuck-up, always-competitive Asuka.  
  
"Yeah well, couldn't be any worse then my current luck." She said sardonically.  
  
Asuka stood, stalking towards Ruki with catlike grace, and slapped her hard across the face.  
  
"Snap out of it! So Ryo has chosen a new fuck toy... You aren't seriously going to tell me you thought you and he were a forever thing?"  
  
"No!" Ruki snapped defensively, "Of course not... It's just... I was his favourite, his lover. What am I supposed to do now?"  
  
Asuka blinked in shock, "What are you supposed to do now? Get on with your life perhaps? He's not the only man out there. You're pretty, talented, and charismatic. You could have any man you wanted... well except perhaps Kaji, but that's because he's with me..."  
  
Ruki began to giggle, and impulsively she hugged the girl who had been the closest thing she'd had to a best friend for a long, long time,  
  
"Thank you Asuka."  
  
Asuka smiled, "Anytime babe."  
  
~~~  
  
"So..." The boy began placing his legs atop the table in a display of complete disregard for courtesy, "What's on the agenda for today?"  
  
"Many things must be discussed and decided upon," The oldest member of the council replied coldly, "And if you will remove your filthy feet from the boardroom's only table we can begin."  
  
"Indeed," The blonde boy who sat next to the brunette murmured.  
  
The boy rolled his eyes beneath chestnut brown bangs, "Yeah, yeah. Jeez you're strict..." He muttered dropping his feet to the ground.  
  
"Thank you." The older boy grated as the brunette complied, as if simply saying the words left a foul taste in his mouth, "Our first topic, to meditate upon, is the current mecha situation."  
  
"What is our current position?" The youngest female member of the council asked, setting her coffee in front of her as she heaped salt into the drink.  
  
"We have yet to decide our position." The only male member who had not yet spoken replied.  
  
"This is stupid!" The older female finally aired her thoughts, "We sit here talking, making decisions, but we wouldn't have a clue! We need to take action."  
  
"Perhaps..." The oldest member agreed, "But hastiness would not be advisable."  
  
"Perhaps we should discuss other matters and then adjourn to meditate upon the matter of the mecha's privately, and learn more about the situation in the privacy of our own homes."  
  
"I second the motion." The oldest member of council agreed, nodding towards the boy who was resting his hand on the arm of the oldest member of the council.  
  
The older female reluctantly nodded, "Shall we move on then, before chocolate-locks gets bored again and blows up the boardroom."  
  
Glaring at the boy in question Yue, oldest member of the council nodded his concurrence.  
  
~~~  
  
"Ken?"  
  
Ken looked up at the interruption, "Yes Iori?"  
  
"Sora wishes to see you." Iori replied brusquely, green eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ken.  
  
"Oh... Okay." Ken stood.  
  
Iori turned and left without another word leaving Ken blinking in surprise. The ruins they currently inhabited were those of a house, or so Sora had informed him. The mecha hunters were clever and sharp-eyed, which meant no hiding place was completely safe, but if they kept moving they might avoid the mecha hunters until their systems finally shut down for good.  
  
Picking his way through the rubble that it wouldn't be safe to clear Ken made his way to the room Sora had claimed as her own,  
  
"Sora-chan? Iori said you wanted me..."  
  
Sora looked up with a warm smile, "Yes, yes. Sit down Ken, I've discovered some information about your Blue Fairy."  
  
~~~  
  
Willis sighed as he reclined back against the tree, trying to glean some relief from the burning sun as he watched the riders who were presently at the encampment go about their business.  
  
He was interested in only one of the many scurrying hunters - the copper- haired second in command, Ruki. The young woman in question was currently sitting with her troupe instructing them on a subject he was not interested in ascertaining.  
  
He felt well muscled arms slide around his waist and gave his assailant an absent-minded peck on the cheek as he continued to study the girl with his intense stare.  
  
"Hey," Ryo objected light-heartedly, "That's it? Do I have competition beautiful?"  
  
Willis smiled affectionately at the other boy, "Of course not Ryo, I'm just kind of busy at the moment."  
  
"Too busy to talk to the gorgeous and talented Ryo? Well this is a new experience for me!" The brunette joked.  
  
Willis dragged his eyes away from the red-haired beauty whom he'd replaced in Ryo's affections and gave the boy his full attention,  
  
"How can I help you Ryo?" The blond asked cordially.  
  
Ryo smiled, "Well you can start by giving me a slightly warmer welcome..."  
  
Willis smiled softly and leant up to kiss the taller boy,  
  
"Better?"  
  
"Oh yes," Ryo breathed  
  
~~~  
  
Silver-grey eyes peered out from behind similar coloured bangs as Yue, the oldest member of the council of six waited for his subordinates to come to attention, in order to discuss the next topic.  
  
A light touch on his arm alerted him to the presence of one of the more quieter members of the council, and he felt calm wash over him even as he smiled at the contact. Clearing his throat he drew the attention of the other four,  
  
"If you will stop your nattering we can commence. We have assembled to discuss the matter of the mecha's, I hope you have all given the issue the time for consideration it deserves. Who wishes to speak?"  
  
Brushing crimson hair back from her face the oldest female on the council stood, "I do."  
  
"Very well Naomi. You have the floor."  
  
"We must take action, make our move. We sit here as if we're old and grey already instead of doing something, anything. We're content to let the world pass us by while we sit here making rules for a people we've never been a part of. I say we go out there and meet some of these mecha's before we make our decision, I mean, think how many incidents there have been concerning the mecha's over the past few years! In spite of that, the last time we took action was when we banished Yagami Hikari - The first mecha - and banned the reproduction of human facsimiles of that level. The mecha's of today lack compassion, yet as time passes our scientists grow bolder, and the mecha's begin to emulate human behaviour. Perhaps some have already created mechas like the first. It is evolution after all."  
  
The younger female tilted her head, considering the viewpoint, "Perhaps you are correct Naomi, every day these mecha's grow more and more authentic."  
  
From next to Yue the often silent brunette added his thoughts to the fray, "However... Despite everything you have said, despite their apparent spirit, these machines are not human, and no amount of evolution can turn a piece of wood into a living being. There is no blue fairy to turn these Pinocchio's into real boys."  
  
Yue nodded, "Quite. Your opinion holds much sway within the council Naomi. We will reconvene in one week. During that time everyone is to arrange a meeting with one of these machines to form an opinion on their potential advantages or dangers."  
  
~~~  
  
"You are Yamato, are you not?" The voice was seductively pitched low and curious.  
  
"Yes, can I help you?" Yamato replied, blinking up at the unfamiliar face.  
  
"I am Ootoshi Takehito," The boy replied simply.  
  
Yamato examined the boy, his chestnut brown hair was cut short, the longest bangs just brushing his cheekbones. His eyes were a brilliant amber-brown and he was slender, built much like Jenrya and the rest of the Beautiful One's.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," Yamato said genially.  
  
The boy smiled, sliding an arm around Yamato's waist, "That is good to hear, my fair-haired beau, Mimi recommends your company, she claims you have beautiful ideas."  
  
Yamato shrugged, "My idea's aren't anywhere near as interesting as hers."  
  
"Nonsense my sweet, you are a vision of loveliness, I'm quite sure your ideas will prove to be equally as attractive."  
  
Yamato ducked his head, "Thanks. Do you want to go walk over by the lake then Takehito?"  
  
"That sounds delectable my dear."  
  
~~~  
  
Long braid trailing behind him, the youngest member of the council made his way to the oasis the computer indicated could be found in the mountainous region of the wastelands.  
  
Beaming he brought his hovercraft to an abrupt halt and jauntily sauntered into the tunnel that he had ascertained, thanks to his extra-curricular computer skills, would lead him to a cluster of machines, or mecha's.  
  
He paused as he stepped into the oasis to take in the site before him. It looked like something from a relatively classy porno, or an aristocratic wet dream.  
  
There was a nude silver haired beauty bathing in the lake while a dark haired vixen watched, occasionally reaching out a helping hand to caress the other girls perfect ivory skin, as if it were some twisted pantomime of wiping away dirt.  
  
It took the chestnut haired council member two glances to determine that the next two exquisite creatures he saw were males; like the two females they were perfectly put together, but unlike the females he'd seen first they were dressed in barely modest clinging silk. The brunette had his arm around the blond and was paying rather more attention to him then the blond seemed used too.  
  
His gaze was finally caught by the figure sitting almost imposingly on the throne idly watching his subjects and occasionally glancing into the mirror he was holding in his left hand.  
  
Duo, youngest member of the council, cleared his throat nervously, wondering why he didn't feel uncomfortable. He was basically watching a porno film in the making and he was debating leaving?  
  
"Who are you and what is your business in the Oasis of the Beautiful Ones?"  
  
Duo spun around to look for the origin of the voice, the girl was beautiful; long brown hair, clingy silk very revealing dress, perfectly shaped breasts, eerily perfect features.  
  
"Erm, I wanted to meet you guys. I have travelled a long way to gaze upon true beauty."  
  
The girls brown eyes brightened slightly, "You are truly an enchanting creature," She smiled, her hand reaching out to caress his face, "You make the Oasis beautiful, you may stay. Now come."  
  
Duo followed her up to the throne, trying not to stare at the teen on the throne. He was perhaps a year older then Duo with blue-black hair, clear grey eyes and a pretty-boy figure.  
  
"Jenrya, this is my new pet, he makes the oasis beautiful does he not?"  
  
The boys eyes flickered over Duo with a limited interest,  
  
"He is quite lovely Mimi, you have exquisite taste. " His hand reached out to trace Duo's face before he leant forward and kissed the other boy deeply.  
  
Seconds turned into minutes as the kiss continued, until Jenrya finally pulled back with a satisfied smile, "Exquisite."  
  
Duo stared at him still somewhat dazed, "Glerk?"  
  
Mimi smiled, "I shall go introduce him to Hiroko, they would look beautiful together would they not?"  
  
"No... He would look far more beautiful with Takehito I think, or perhaps Yamato."  
  
The girl smiled, "As you like, my love."  
  
Jenrya gently kissed the girl, "You are truly beautiful, ma petite."  
  
~~~  
  
Iori watched as Sora talked to the blue-haired mecha with detached interest. He did not dislike the other mecha, yet Sora's insistent coddling of the newer model irked him. It would not help the younger mecha to grow accustomed to his new way of life any faster; it was both inefficient, and stupid.  
  
Had it been a human Iori would not have objected, but being a machine himself he understood the two most important lessons any mecha ever learnt, humans were always right and there was no use in delaying the inevitable.  
  
As Sora left the room Iori took her place next to the bluenette.  
  
"Ken."  
  
Ken looked up, "Iori? What is it?"  
  
"Your behaviour is troubling me. It is disquieting."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Your search for this mythological blue fairy. It is useless. Your pathetic sentimental attachment to this human. I do not understand it."  
  
"It's not useless! I love Daisuke and he loves me."  
  
"No Ken. He loves what you can do for him, just as once my customers loved what I did for them, but he cannot love you. You are not real."  
  
Ken turned his head away, "Then I will become real."  
  
Iori stood, "You are a fool, and yet... I hope this human of yours returns to you, for perhaps... you are different."  
  
~~~  
  
Duo followed the girl who was tugging him enthusiastically towards the two boys he'd seen nestled together when he'd entered the Oasis.  
  
"Yamato, Takehito, I require your expertise."  
  
Both boys looked up at the girls words, the blond smiling happily, "How can we help Mimi-chan?"  
  
"This is..." She paused, "What is your name pet?"  
  
"Er, Duo. Duo Maxwell."  
  
She smiled, "Duo, that is a beautiful name. Yamato, I require you to take my pet Duo to the lake and get him cleaned up. I hope you and Takehito will make him feel very welcome. I think you will find him both amusing and exquisitely beautiful if you explore his full potential."  
  
Both boys stood and nodded, and taking an arm each led the long-haired boy towards the lake.  
  
"Erm, so, you're Yamato, right?" He asked looking at the brunette. Both boys laughed merrily,  
  
"I'm Yamato," The blond informed him, blue eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth, "Mat for short. He's Takehito."  
  
"Oh..." Duo nodded, "Got it. So what are we doing?"  
  
The blond smiled, "Bathing. Mimi asked Takehito and I to lend a hand..."  
  
"Or a mouth if that will make you feel more at home..." The brunette added with a grin.  
  
Duo blinked then felt a smirk spread over his face, "Both sound like they have their advantages."  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki sighed as she stared out over the wastelands; her eyes fixed on the distant southern mountains.  
  
Ryo hadn't given her troupe another task, and she didn't feel up to leading another raid, not while Ryo and his new toy stayed here alone.  
  
Not that they'd be alone... but still, Ryo had caused unrest amongst his 'subjects' when he'd set aside the girl he claimed to love for one of the mecha's he'd sworn to destroy.  
  
Regardless of his physical attraction to the machine Ryo should not have overlooked his duties as Leader of the Hunters for a romp in the hay...  
  
Ruki heaved another sigh; she could not leave when Ryo's position was so precarious. Never before had a hunter taken a mecha as a lover, but then, the mecha's who inhabited the wastelands were not beautiful.  
  
Ryo's new lover quite obviously was.  
  
"The only way to save his life is to return him to wherever he came from. Ryo has to understand that. He can't stay here."  
  
"Is that so?" Ryo asked, his ever-present new lover twined around him.  
  
Ruki looked up in surprise then regained her momentum, "Yes. Ryo, you know the others want to rip him apart... they believe he's brainwashed you. Let me take him back to the other Beautiful Ones. If they won't accept him you can have him for all eternity, if they will then at least he'll be safe. Wasn't that what you wanted?"  
  
Ryo looked caught, then he smiled confidently at the machine in his arms, "What do you wish to do?"  
  
The blond looked interestedly at Ruki, "If you believe you can convince them then I am happy to try. When will we leave?"  
  
Ryo blinked in disbelief and released the blond; "Tomorrow will be soon enough I hope?"  
  
The mecha shrugged, "It makes little difference to me."  
  
Ryo looked between the two and turned stiffly, "I'll see you when you finish making your plans then. I assume you'll wish to say goodbye?"  
  
The mecha shrugged again, "It makes little difference to me."  
  
Ruki smiled at him, but it lacked the warmth he had become used to from her smiles, "I'll say it now. Goodbye Ryo."  
  
~~~  
  
"Sora-chan, I thank you for your information, and your aid. Thank you."  
  
Sora looked up smiling tenderly, "I am always happy to be of assistance Ken- chan. Is there another way I can help you?"  
  
"Possibly... Do you, perchance, know which direction I should walk to get to Galar'iel? I must find a terminal to upload new information on my Blue Fairy, I must go to Galar'iel to become real."  
  
Sora's soft smile faltered slightly at his words, "Ken... You can't go to Galar'iel."  
  
"Why not?" Ken's words were neither malicious nor spiteful.  
  
"Because you're a mecha Ken-chan."  
  
His face showed no sign of comprehension.  
  
Sora resorted to the cold hard truth, "If you go to Galar'iel Ken you will be burnt. You aren't real Ken, and if you go there they will destroy you for a failing that is not truly yours."  
  
Ken blinked then he lowered his eyes to his folded hands, "I respect your opinion Sora, but I would rather burn then live out my life as an outcast without my Daisuke."  
  
Sora nodded hesitantly, "North-west."  
  
Ken looked up at her.  
  
"Galar'iel is four days journey North-west, if you don't get caught by the Hunters first, if you don't stop, if you don't get lost, if you don't get distracted. Four days journey North-west."  
  
Ken smiled hesitantly, "Arigato Sora-chan."  
  
Sora gave him a level look, "Don't thank me yet Ken. There's no way I'm letting you make this journey alone."  
  
~~~  
  
Talented hands caressed his already over-sensitive skin and brilliant cobalt eyes met his own as the girl who knelt before him impishly leant forward to touch the tip of her tongue to his bared nipple. He felt a jolt as if he'd been struck by lightening as she continued to tease.  
  
Three days of similar behaviour from the entire faction had taught him that this was normal behaviour for these mecha's.  
  
Duo threaded a hand through the girl's dark coffee-coloured hair. She slid up along his body to press her lips against his then finally drew back to address the comment he had made to incite her reaction,  
  
"Are you sure you have to go?"  
  
Duo leaned forward to follow her lips and met them in a fiery kiss,  
  
"Ano... I should..." He breathed between kisses.  
  
Mimi tugged Hiroko off of him, "Hiro, leave Duo be, if necessity dictates he leave, then leave he must. You will return pet?"  
  
Duo nodded frantically, "Of course!"  
  
Mimi smiled, "You see, now leave him be Hiro. The sooner you leave the sooner you can return."  
  
She pressed her lips to his in an affectionate kiss, "Now go."  
  
Duo nodded agreeably, "I'm gone."  
  
~~~  
  
"And this is my bedroom." Smiling softly Miyako pulled Hikari into the room. Hikari smiled back, "It is lovely, just like you."  
  
Miyako blushed, "Thanks."  
  
"Your brother wishes to run tests on me does he not?"  
  
Miyako nodded shyly, "Or I can... If you like? I'm highly qualified."  
  
Hikari caressed the girls cheek with the back of her hand affectionately, "I would like that Miya."  
  
"Oh. Well, ah, the labs are this way," Miyako said taking the brunettes hand and leading her towards the labs.  
  
The doors slid open as the motion sensors detected their presence, signalling their arrival with a soft ping.  
  
"This is where you created the mecha, Ken?"  
  
Miyako nodded, "Yes, I can show you his stats, they're on this computer."  
  
Hikari smiled and promptly interfaced with the computer.  
  
"They are interesting, these statistics."  
  
Miyako removed her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose,  
  
"They just confuse me," She admitted guiltily.  
  
Hikari laughed and leant up to peck the girls lips with an tender smile.  
  
"Come on, I'll explain them to you dearest."  
  
"Dearest?" Miyako questioned blushing a little, "What's going to be next? Pearl of my Desire?"  
  
Hikari smiled and gave the girl another succinct peck on the lips, which turned into more when Miyako deepened the kiss.  
  
"I love you Miya, I like showing that," Hikari explained, "It is hard to operate outside my programming, I am forced to rewrite my systems to allow me to be with you as I wish to be with you."  
  
Miyako looked remorseful, "I understand. I'm sorry Hikari."  
  
Hikari laughed, threading her fingers through the other girls, "It is all right Miyako. I only wish this mecha you had created had the ability to rewrite his programming also. Now, let me explain these statistics."  
  
Miyako giggled affectionately, snuggling into the smaller mecha, "Okay. I'm listening."  
  
~~~  
  
Naomi stood, her eyes meeting those of her peers as she waited for the silence she required before speaking.  
  
"As was decided I met with the machines we are here to judge. While they are not. dangerous, there are many which serve no purpose."  
  
"Hey!" Duo objected from his position at the head of the table, "Some of them serve a purpose," He smirked lazily, "Let me just say I'm very satisfied."  
  
Naomi glared at the boy, "I have the floor chocolate-locks and you would do well to respect that."  
  
The boy rolled his eyes and made a lazy hand motion to signify she could continue. She glared at him before doing so.  
  
"Broken mecha's litter the wasteland and are regularly destroyed in Galar'iel by the hunters and their supporters. Every day our scientists create more and more of these creatures with bigger and better 'abilities'. They don't seem to understand that sometimes 'new and improved' isn't always what's best for our people. I believe we should keep these machines simple, and their operators capable. These new 'improved' models can be handled by anyone, including people who shouldn't possess a machine so humanlike. I say we order all these so-called scientists to keep to the original model before something really bad happens, like us being superseded by these ludicrous second-rate machines."  
  
Yue met the eyes of the boy next to him with a questioning glance. The brunette shrugged and turned to Naomi,  
  
"Your opinion has been noted Naomi, we thank you for your time. Who will speak next?"  
  
"I will speak tomorrow when we reconvene, if that is satisfactory to all on the council."  
  
Yue inclined his head to the blond; "It is acceptable. Tomorrow the floor is yours."  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki turned her head to look at her guide; "This is the entrance to the Oasis?"  
  
Willis nodded, "Through the tunnel."  
  
Ruki grabbed his arm and pulled him after her as she strode through the tunnel to find the Beautiful Ones. She would definitely need to have her wits about her if she wanted to convince them to take the blond off her hands.  
  
She blinked as they stepped out into the dappled sunlight of the Oasis, her hair and eyes were being struck by the direct sunlight and it was actually rather annoying.  
  
"Who are you and wha-" A voice asked, cutting off halfway through the question.  
  
"Ruki." It was neither a question nor a statement, but rather something in between.  
  
It took Ruki a moment to recognise the girl who'd spoken her name so calmly, "Mimi?" She asked.  
  
Mimi smiled and warmly embraced the girl as if they were sisters... or lovers.  
  
"Ruki, it has been such a long time. I almost thought you had forgotten my invitation, allow me to introduce you... after you bathe of course. I have a violet gown that would look lovely on you my fiery love."  
  
Ruki pulled away reluctantly, "Mimi, I'm not here to stay..."  
  
Mimi laughed, "Nonsense beloved, why else would you be here?"  
  
"Ano," Ruki pulled Willis forward, "Here, it's one of yours I think."  
  
Mimi's eyes narrowed, as she glared at the blond, "No. I'm sorry my precious, but you've made a mistake. That is one of the ugly ones." Skilfully she extracted Ruki's hand from Willis's and insinuated herself into the tiny spot between them, "He's different to us beloved, now come, let me get you cleaned and dressed properly."  
  
Her dark gaze rested briefly on the blond; "You are not welcome here. Tell the people of my beloved that she is with the Beautiful One's and of them. Now go. Ruki will stay with I and my love, for she is Beautiful and you are not."  
  
Willis turned coldly and left the Oasis. It was one thing to be replaced by the golden haired mecha.  
  
It was quite another to be replaced by the Unbeautiful second-in-command of the mecha hunters.  
  
Unspeaking he set out across the desert. If he could not be where he truly belonged then he would set out to assure that the copper-haired hunter would not be welcomed back should she return to where she belonged.  
  
~~~  
  
Blond hair shielded violet eyes from view, yet did not block their penetrating glare. The boy gave a slight, polite bow before beginning.  
  
"I spoke with a mecha, and I found his speech... interesting to say the least. So today I will introduce him to the council, that he may say his piece to you as well."  
  
Yue raised an eyebrow at the slight impertinence but allowed it to pass, the blond had ever been a polite and useful member of the council... unlike certain others.  
  
"Council, allow me to introduce Bakura."  
  
The silver haired mecha inclined his head a fraction, "A pleasure, I'm sure."  
  
The blond cut him off, "These formalities are useless, speak your piece."  
  
The boy smirked, "As you command, almighty council member." He paused for effect, "I believe your people have made a mistake Council. You have made us too smart, too quick and too many. We are suffering for the mistakes your people are still making, because when the end of this world comes all that will be left is us. You hate us because you know we will replace you in this world, but it is too late Council. Your people have made their mistakes and they will not allow you to drag them backwards again."  
  
There was silence in the room as the mecha finished his piece.  
  
"Thank you Bakura, I believe you have made my point nicely. We have likely missed our opportunity, yet we should try to stop these mistakes from progressing any further. I relinquish the floor."  
  
Yue inclined his head to the blond, "Your opinion has been noted Yugi Moto."  
  
~~~  
  
The sun beat down upon the heads of the two mechas, and the sand beneath their feet glittered like glass, reflecting the sun blindingly.  
  
Ken did not even attempt to make conversation. Sora walked mechanically, her concentration turned inwards as she competently calculated distances and times, effortlessly deciding the most efficient path through the desert.  
  
Ken followed Sora's lead, his violet eyes tracking her as he dwelled inwardly upon his memories.  
  
"What do we have here?" The voice rang in the empty desert.  
  
Both mecha's looked up at the brunette on the hover bike.  
  
"I'm Ken, This is Sora." Ken announced looking at the teen on the bike curiously.  
  
"Mechas," The boy spat coldly, "Your kind means nothing to me!"  
  
Ken's violet eyes clouded over as he heard Takeru's words spoken from this strange boy.  
  
"We are going to Gala'riel, we mean no harm." Sora told the boy.  
  
The boy snarled, "Yeah, well we'll give you a free trip. You two," He nodded towards his two lackeys, "Grab 'em. Ryo will be pleased to see we've done something productive. Let's go people."  
  
~~~  
  
Duo's violet eyes glittered beneath his bangs. There was little he could say which would augment the jumble of opinions, so he went with his instincts and spoke what he believed in.  
  
"They're not all bad, these so-called mecha's. Maybe they act like humans, but that doesn't make them impersonators, it just makes them a different breed of humans. We created them, but that doesn't give us the right to destroy them. We're as envious of them as they are of us, only we can't admit it. Maybe one day they will be the dominant species, but that doesn't give us the right to kill them now. Even if we aren't ready to accept them, they're here, and short of obliteration there's nothing we can do to stop that. Maybe they don't really have blood, but their metaphorical blood will be on our hands for the rest of our lives if we wipe out their race. I don't know about you, but I think the human race has done enough killing, besides," The boy finished with a broad grin, "they're great in bed."  
  
Yue looked caught between amusement and anger, "That wasn't your assignment."  
  
Duo winked, "Those were my perks. Besides you asked for advantages - they're all sluts, good looking sluts too, they're easy!"  
  
Yue gave a resigned sigh, "You're not helping your cause Maxwell."  
  
Duo shrugged, "Oh well. Just keep in mind that they actually do have their uses."  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki smiled contently, oddly at ease in the flimsy lounging gown Mimi had given her. She could feel Jenrya running his fingers through her hair, his other hand resting lightly on her midriff.  
  
"Jenrya?" She murmured softly.  
  
"What is it love?"  
  
"At Gala'riel they burn mecha's," She admitted, "I, now that I know you, it seems so wrong to let so many of your kind die."  
  
"Hush love," Jenrya covered her mouth, "They are not our kind. If they were beautiful they would not be burnt."  
  
"Jenrya, I think we should go, just in case..." Ruki pleaded as his hand returned to its previous position.  
  
"I would do anything to please my dearest lovers. If Mimi wishes this journey, then we will travel to Gala'riel. Does this please you my sweet?"  
  
Ruki sought out his lips with her own, meeting them in a passionate kiss, displaying the fiery nature Jenrya prized so highly.  
  
"Yes Jenrya. It pleases me."  
  
~~~  
  
"Oniichan!" Sakura greeted, her green eyes lighting up as the two oldest council members walked into the laboratory. "I missed you so much."  
  
Smiling she ran at the two boys, hugging them warmly, "Did you miss me too Touya?"  
  
"Of course," Touya answered softly, drawing back to look down at the girl, "How are you feeling today, kaijuu?"  
  
The girl pouted, stomping her foot, "I am NOT a monster Touya. Yue, tell niichan to be nice to me. I'm sick!"  
  
Yue laughed softly, "Be nice to Sakura-chan, she's sick."  
  
Touya rolled his eyes, "I'm so sorry kaijuu."  
  
The girl gasped indignantly, and blushingly darted towards the other boy, "I'm not talking to you!" She claimed loudly.  
  
Yue smiled affectionately, losing his cold manner in the presence of the only two people he had ever cared about.  
  
"How is everyone treating you Sakura-chan?" Yue asked.  
  
The girl blushed a little more, "Oh, okay. But it's not like being with you and oniichan. When am I allowed to come home?"  
  
Yue averted his eyes, "We'll have to talk to the doctor, we're not sure."  
  
"Okay," Sakura agreed amiably, "I know you wouldn't ever lie to me."  
  
Touya picked the girl up from behind,  
  
"Oniichan!" The girl shrilled.  
  
"I'm sorry. Do you forgive me? I'll put you down when you do."  
  
"I forgive you," The girl relented, "Do you want to play with me?"  
  
"Well..." Touya began.  
  
"I'm sorry Sakura, we have to talk to your doctor," Yue cut in, "Come on To- ya, we'll come visit again next week, okay?"  
  
Sakura smiled at him, "And you'll take me home, right?"  
  
"Of course," Yue lied.  
  
The grey eyes of the doctor met Yue's and he shook his head apologetically.  
  
"This is the most advanced mechanical project I've ever worked upon. There are still a few bugs to work out."  
  
"A few bugs?" Yue replied icily, "That... machine believes she's truly Touya's younger sister Sakura. This wasn't what we asked for. You said you could heal Sakura after the accident. You said you could fix her paralysis, make her the girl she was before. You never said anything about making a robot."  
  
"I... She has all Sakura's memories, she looks like Sakura, she'll react like Sakura. What more do you want?"  
  
Touya blinked away the first hints of tears, "I want my little sister. I want her to be real and alive again. I don't want some machine whose just going to pretend."  
  
"Bringing back the dead is beyond even my skill. Give me the order and I'll kill that little girl, is that what you want?"  
  
Sakura smiled at them through the glass, her green eyes full of trust. Yue scowled and spun on his heel. "We'll be back next week. Same day, same time."  
  
~~~  
  
The mecha's crowded around the two newcomers with childlike delight.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"I am Sora and this is Ken. Who are you?"  
  
"I am Izumi, and my companion is Takuya," She smiled charmingly.  
  
Her long blond hair hung around her face, giving her the façade of beauty, but her lips had been torn somehow, and instead of the customary facsimile of lips, the girl had copper wiring poking out of a gelatine type material. Her imitation skin had also been ripped in places, showing glimpses of wiring, metal or that cheap gelatine. Her companion was missing large clumps of his hair, and twitched every few seconds while his body was racked with violent shudders every few minutes. "You two just get here?"  
  
Sora nodded, guarding her charge carefully.  
  
"Is he... you know, messed up in the head?" Takuya asked curiously, peering at Ken.  
  
"What?" Ken asked, "Sora, what is he asking me?"  
  
Takuya blinked in surprise, "Woah, I thought you might be broken, like Kouji."  
  
"Who's Kouji?" Ken asked softly.  
  
"Ah," Takuya began, "I'll show you."  
  
He cleared a pathway through the crowd to a perfectly formed mecha who was sat next to the bars of the cage looking off blankly into space.  
  
The boys long blue-black hair was perfectly straight, his dark blue-grey eyes were exquisite, physically he was perfect, no indication he was a mecha, save for his lack of animation.  
  
"Kouji!" Takuya rubbed the boys shoulder, "Yo!"  
  
The mecha mechanically stood, his voice flat, "Pleasure cost money. Break pleasure machine bad no ask pleasure."  
  
"He's broken, see?" The boy asked, "We're thinking they're gonna burn him soon, when they burn me an' 'Zumi. You'se here in time to be burnt too."  
  
"I can't be burnt. I'm going to find the Blue Fairy, and then Daisuke will love me, so you see, I can't get burnt. I'm a real boy."  
  
~~~  
  
It felt strange, to Ruki, to be heading to Galar'iel, not as a hunter, but as one of the mecha's she'd once sought after and destroyed.  
  
It felt oddly anomalous to be riding her customary bike, yet to be riding with the Beautiful Ones rather then her company.  
  
She could feel Jenrya's strong arms around her, he'd chosen to ride behind her, and the gesture comforted Ruki rather then annoyed her.  
  
It felt almost wrong to be making for Galar'iel with the Beautiful Ones. Mimi had not even thought about her request, she had smiled and nodded at Ruki's suggestion for the simple reason it came from Ruki.  
  
Jenrya leant forward, drawing Ruki out of her thoughts as his lips tickled her ear, "Does this make you happy love?"  
  
Ruki smiled, "Well, if I can show the world that not all mecha's are foul ugly creatures, I'll be happy. If I can save just one Beautiful One from burning, then I'll be satisfied."  
  
Jenrya smiled back, "Good. Let's stop here for the night," He looked over at the setting sun, "Our entrance needs to be perfectly coordinated so that we make a perfect appearance tomorrow morning."  
  
"Of course," Ruki stopped her bike, and slid off, watching as Takehito and Yamato efficiently set up the tent of the Beautiful Ones. They'd slept in it last night, it was overindulgent luxury, and Ruki doubted she'd ever grow sick of it.  
  
~~~  
  
The girl stood - her blond hair loose down her back, and her crimson eyes glittering, "I think that the mechas are entertaining." She smiled, memories of the two mechas she'd witnessed making the 'erotic' motion picture filling her head. It had definitely been entertaining to watch, the two mechas had no physical flaws, and genuinely loved what they were doing, a trait that was rare in real humans.  
  
"There are things, jobs, that need to be done, and I think it is better to have machines who enjoy doing the job, then humans who don't." She smiled over at the mecha she'd brought along, "Ah, my coffee. Thank you." She smiled, "Which brings me to my second point, they make great coffee, just the right amount of salt."  
  
Touya spoke softly, his voice curious, and audible to all in the room, "You make a good point, Fiona, but my question is, if we give these mecha's responsibilities, jobs that no human wishes to do, what rights should we also give them? The right to life? The right to safety? Do we pay them? Why give them only the jobs no human wants to do, they're smarter then us, their posiatronic brains can hold far more information, why shouldn't we give them management jobs?"  
  
Fiona bit her lip, "I... You're right. But we humans will never do that, because we are afraid, because we know that they are smarter then us, and could live on this planet far more efficiently. We can not give them rights, because to do so would mean we consider them equal and humans as a race must always be superior. We humans are stupid enough to believe we have gotten over our bigotry and our racism. Skin colours are no longer an issue, nobody even cares. Same sex couples are as accepted and as natural as any other kind of couple. Problems that we once thought we would never resolve have resolved themselves as people grow more tolerant, but we cannot tolerate these machines being equal to us, because we are still on our basest level a discriminatory people."  
  
Touya nodded, "And that is why we will never achieve an acceptable standard of social cohesion or social harmony between our two peoples, because we prosecute their kind, because they are not human, and because they pretend to be so well."  
  
~~~  
  
The hunters were far from gentle as they hauled Kouji out of the metal cage, and the long haired boy was limp in their hands, listlessly following their commands as he was lugged towards the centre of the grounds.  
  
"Kouji!" Takuya yelled desperately, trying to break the mecha out of his trance-like obedience.  
  
Soft eyes turned to meet his, and Kouji blinked, "Takuya?"  
  
The two hunters dragged him forward as he stopped moving on his own, cursing all the while.  
  
"Kouji, don't let them... not you!" Takuya rasped, "Not you."  
  
Kouji blinked at him. The mecha-hunters cursed louder, and the taller one hauled Kouji up and threw him into the small ditch at the centre of the grounds.  
  
"Stupid machine."  
  
The shorter hunter dropped a match into the kerosene that filled the ditch Kouji was standing in.  
  
Takuya pulled away from the hunter who was restraining him and lunged towards Kouji as the flames burst into life, trying to protect the beautiful fragile mecha with his own body.  
  
"Takuya?" Kouji whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Oh Kouji, I'm sorry," Takuya whispered back as the fire burnt his clothes and melted his skin.  
  
Kouji leant forward and pressed his burning lips to Takuya's, even as the fire roared around them, destroying them.  
  
Takato beside Taichi frowned, his brow crinkling in distress, "I've never seen one of them do that before. It's... weird."  
  
"Almost... human," Tai agreed.  
  
~~~  
  
Hikari smiled softly her crimson eyes alight with affection,  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Miyako responded with a deep, lingering kiss, "I'm positive."  
  
Hikari stared at her lover for a few moments, then leant forward and gently kissed the taller girl, before trailing kisses down the girls neck.  
  
"I love you," She punctuated each word with a teasing kiss, "Toujours. Un eternité. Je t'aime."  
  
Miyako's breath hitched, tiny moans escaping through her slightly parted lips,  
  
"I love you too," She whispered, repeating Hikari's words in English, "Always. Forever. I love you."  
  
Hikari's smile broadened, and she relieved the lavender haired girl of her shirt, softly caressing her pale untouched skin.  
  
"I promise I'll make it good for you Miya-chan. I promise."  
  
Miyako nodded breathlessly, "I know you will Hika. God you're beautiful."  
  
Hikari leant forward and captured the scientists lips in a demandingly heated kiss.  
  
~~~  
  
Mimi faltered as she took in the scene; Ruki followed her gaze to the flames roaring around a pair of kissing mecha's.  
  
"Kouji..." Her voice was a pained whisper.  
  
Jenrya stared at the fire for a moment, "He chose to leave the oasis, there was nothing more we could have done."  
  
"Who...?" Ruki whispered, finally managing to tear her eyes away from the pair as they disappeared behind the sea of flames.  
  
"Kouji." Jenrya said shortly, his voice cold, "Note well what happens to those who leave the Oasis to find their place in the world. Our place is the Oasis, and there is nowhere else we can go where we will be accepted."  
  
Mimi looked away, "We see it, just as you do. Kouji is dead because he forsook his beauty and his family."  
  
Ruki turned back to the grounds, the flames had died down, but nothing remained of the two mecha's who'd burnt save for the heady tang of burnt rubber and acrid copper that clogged the air.  
  
~~~  
  
Yue smiled reassuringly as his normally reticent lover stepped forward and cleared his throat. The assembled group turned to look at him, falling silent respectfully.  
  
"I suppose it's hard to know where to begin, or what to say," Touya began, his voice sure and strong, "I believe I have made my position clear, but the subject of mechas - mechanical humans, is not a simple subject. There is no black and white, no good and bad, there is only 'us' and 'them', a distinction we ourselves have created. There are many depths that we have only just begun to graze the surface of. These machines have no malice towards us, they are machines, and therefore do only what they are programmed to do, just as humans do only what they have been conditioned to do, by society."  
  
"What do you mean, conditioned?" Naomi asked sharply.  
  
"We, as humans, do not act outside the parameters of our conditioning. We do not walk around naked, because we have been conditioned into seeing that as wrong, we could walk around naked, but we do not." Naomi nodded her understanding.  
  
"I do not believe that these mechas present an overt threat - their menace lies in their similarity, and their difference to our species. It is both their similarities and their differences that prevent their obliteration." Touya shrugged "Besides, Duo was correct when he said that the human race has done enough killing throughout history. I do not believe it is our place to destroy another species, regardless of their danger to our own. I think perhaps they are our punishment for our arrogance in replicating in metal what nature never would have recreated."  
  
~~~  
  
Ken's eyes were wide, conspicuous in his pale face. The hunter who gripped his arm now was the same one who was responsible for his being captured in the first place.  
  
His mind whirled, solutions to his current dilemma were hypothesised and discarded as he hastily determined their probability of success.  
  
The hunter began to haul him forwards and Ken's icy control broke, "Please don't kill me, please you can't, I'm a real boy, I'm a real boy! Please don't kill me, you can't, you can't, I don't want to die, not here - not without Daisuke. Please... Don't kill me!"  
  
The hunter's grip slackened and he turned to his superior in confused shock, "Sir? What should we do?"  
  
Tai stepped forward before he could stop himself, "Ken!"  
  
Kens head snapped around, "Taichi?" He tried to wrench his arm free, "Help me! Please... don't let me die." The boys violet eyes filled with tears, "I don't want to die."  
  
"Where's Daisuke?" Tai asked, positive that the redhead would be somewhere nearby.  
  
Ken let out a choked sob, "I need to find the Blue Fairy. Help me Taichi."  
  
Taichi tried to push through the crowd, but the writhing mass of people almost seemed to be conspiring against him.  
  
Ken stumbled forwards as he lost sight of Taichi, turning his pleading gaze to the hunter,  
  
"Please... I don't want to die."  
  
~~~  
  
"J-jenrya, look!" Mimi breathed almost reverently.  
  
Ruki searched for whatever had caught her lover's eye and felt the breath catch in her throat, "Wow."  
  
Takehito gave an amazed cry, "Is it... *the* Beautiful One? Jenrya?"  
  
The self-proclaimed leader of the mecha's stared at the perfectly proportioned creature who seemed to wordlessly beg for a saviour.  
  
Yamato's eyes widened in horror, "Ken!" His perfect blue eyes turned pleadingly to Jenrya, "We have to save him! I promised him I'd never let anyone hurt him."  
  
Jenrya nodded, "He is beautiful, therefore it is our duty to protect that beauty. Come mes petits."  
  
Ruki ripped the hunters hand away from Ken's arm, cold fury burning in her veins, "We find you guilty of the crime of destruction of beauty."  
  
Jenrya looked around at the crowd, bluntly addressing those who had assembled to watch the burnings, "You have gathered here to watch the destruction of the unbeautiful, this mecha is of our breed and therefore we will protect him."  
  
The air of authority and supreme beauty surrounding the leader of the Beautiful One's drew all eyes effortlessly.  
  
Ruki pulled away from the hunter, and sashayed toward Jenrya drawing upon the beauty of her new family as a shield against the eyes, trying to hold her head high. "As second in command of the mecha hunters I declare the destruction of this mecha, and any other of our level of beauty illegal. I bow down to the higher authority of the legendary Beautiful Ones."  
  
Ken's attention was diverted from his beautiful rescuers when he felt a pair of strong arms embrace him and he stiffened for a moment before he relaxed into the hug. After a few seconds Yamato's soft voice finally computed into comprehensible words, "Don't worry, I'm here Ken."  
  
Kens legs buckled and Yamato scooped him up like a child.  
  
Mimi and Takehito crowded around him worriedly. Mat smiled softly, cradling his fragile burden like a child, "Guys, this is Ken. Ken these are the Beautiful Ones."  
  
Ken frowned weakly, "Yamato... I need to find the Blue Fairy, I can't..."  
  
Yamato stared at the unconscious mecha in his arms. He'd never heard of a system that caused the machine to shut down periodically, so he assumed Ken had overloaded his system.  
  
Jenrya smiled at Yamato when he saw that Ken had been taken care of, "Very good Yamato, I believe we have caused enough trouble." He inclined his head to one of the men he'd addressed earlier, "We will take our leave now."  
  
"Wait!" Tai yelled, finally breaking through the crowd, "Mat, I need to tell you something! Please, don't go."  
  
Yamato turned around, "Taichi?" He asked in shock, his last words to the brunette coming back to haunt him, how could he have forgotten them?  
  
Tai came to a stop in front of Yamato, "Yama," He smiled, "I thought I'd never see you again. I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I hoped I would see you again too."  
  
Yamato stared at the brunette; the words did not fit the standard behavioural patterns of his one-time lover and long-time friend.  
  
"Taichi?" He repeated, trying to ascertain the other boy's problem.  
  
"I wanted to tell you, Yama, I love you too. I wasn't sure before, but when I thought that I might lose you I realised - I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Fuck the rest of humanity, fuck the human-mecha relationship laws, I love you, and nobody will ever change that. Ever."  
  
"Oh Tai, do you mean it?" Yamato breathed reverently.  
  
Tai nodded.  
  
Yamato grinned, "It may not be logical, it should probably be impossible and I wouldn't be surprised if it's morally tabooed... but I love you too. I don't know how it happened, but I'm programmed to learn, and I guess I just learnt to love you."  
  
"Yamato!" Jenrya cut in brusquely, "What is the meaning of this outburst?"  
  
Yamato turned to smile dazzlingly at the group, "This is my boyfriend Taichi, I love him and he loves me. I'm going to go live with him."  
  
Mimi gasped sharply, clutching at Takehito's hand for support.  
  
Jenrya looked almost lost for words, "Yamato... Your place is with us. With the Beautiful Ones... he is not Beautiful."  
  
Mat's face paled, "If Taichi can say fuck humanity to be with me I can say screw you. I love Tai, and I think he *is* beautiful, and if you don't think so then you must be blind. I don't want to be one of the Beautiful Ones if they can't see that true beauty is on the inside."  
  
Ruki smiled, "Very well Yamato, we wish you the very best, just remember..."  
  
Yamato's heart clenched, as he instinctively finished the sentence she'd used more then once about her own situation.  
  
Yamato forced a smile; "I will love him, even when he is old, because his beauty is not simply skin deep."  
  
Ruki shrugged, "We must all follow our natures, and you will follow yours. Goodbye Yamato."  
  
Mat smiled at Taichi, dismissing the Beautiful Ones from his mind as he crushed his lips against Taichi's, careful of the burden in his arms.  
  
Ruki was wrong, she had to be. He and Taichi loved each other more then life itself, Ruki was wrong. He would love Taichi till eternity.  
  
~~~  
  
"You summoned me, Dr Kido?" Hikari asked softly, taking a seat in the chair opposite the blue haired scientist.  
  
"Indeed. I wanted to ask you about the original laws about the creation of mechas."  
  
"You mean the laws that allowed my creation I assume?" Hikari paused, "I suppose, before Seto, my husband, managed to create a system sophisticated enough to allow a machine to think and grow as I have, it did not even occur to the council that it was possible for a human-mecha to be produced. My creation caused uproar, was I a machine or a human? I could think, make my own decisions, but I was not human. I expect this mecha of yours will experience these same prejudices and encounter these same problems. The world has not changed significantly during my time away from it."  
  
"The council has sent for me," Jyou confessed, "if the world has not changed since your creation, if the council has not changed, how should I explain my reanimation of you? If they have not changed, will they again command your destruction?"  
  
Hikari stared at her folded hands for a few moments, "I do not know, but I sincerely hope not."  
  
The room lapsed into silence, Jyou stood, "Hikari? How do you think of yourself?"  
  
"What do you mean?" The girl asked calmly.  
  
"When you think about yourself, do you think of yourself as a machine or a... human?"  
  
"I do not think of myself at all, because frankly I do not relish forcing upon myself a definition of who I am and what I must be, but then," Hikari smiled bitterly, "that's human nature isn't it?"  
  
Jyou could not think of an answer, and when the girl-mecha disappeared through the door, the morbid question was left hanging in the air.  
  
~~~  
  
Willis watched the desert from his perch atop one of the sand dunes, his eyes fixed on the red-haired girl who walked amongst them. Ruki. He'd lost his hatred of her, his contempt, he realised, and he felt nothing but pity for the corporeal being amongst so many immortal machines. He'd lost his place amongst the Beautiful Ones, but it seemed that he had outgrown them at any rate. He would not return; even if they invited him back, he would never fit in. It almost scared him, this unfamiliar lack of belonging.  
  
They looked so happy together, these Beautiful One's, so calm and... Beautiful. Something inside him ached to see their happiness, and yet, he smiled tenderly, his own happiness was waiting only a few hundred metres away for his return.  
  
"For as long as I have Ryo, I have no need to be one of the beautiful ones, for being beautiful in his eyes is worth a thousand times being beautiful in theirs."  
  
He spoke to attain release, to find closure as he watched his once-family return to the Oasis. It was almost strange that the mecha hunters did not try to stop them as they once might have, yet oddly not strange at all.  
  
The red hair glinted in the sun, drawing his attention back to the girl he hated, yet could not in anyway hate at all. Even when he was not a beautiful one, he was still contradictory. Ruki had a sadness in her eyes, a sadness in her stance that he could see, from miles away. She understood that which he was only now grasping now that he understood how much Ryo meant to him.  
  
The fragile mortality of human life and the seeming immortality of the mecha's, seemed so terribly ironic to him. He'd found the love and the life he could not have found without leaving the Beautiful Ones, but the heart of his soulmate was mortal, and it was for that reason that he loved Ryo, for his fragile mortality, for his human weaknesses. And because of those Ryo would one-day die.  
  
Willis picked up the silver bladed knife that had been resting next to him, once he would have needed another to do this deed, now... he understood that he alone had that choice. Light gleamed along the blade and Willis hesitated, was he one of the legendary Blue Fairies now? Was that the purpose of Ryo's upgrade? To give him the ability to think for himself?  
  
He ran a finger along the blade; he'd never before made a selfish decision, but then he had never before experienced the wholly human concept of egocentricity. Machines are designed to serve other people, Willis's action would be solely in his own interest.  
  
Ryo's face flashed into his mind, every detail exact in his memory, every minute wrinkle that marred his face exact.  
  
"Willis?"  
  
Willis turned to see Ryo framed in the doorway, haloed by the light streaming through the door.  
  
"Ryo... I don't want you to die..."  
  
Ryo's lips quirked into a smile, "Well I don't relish the concept myself, but everybody dies sometime."  
  
"I won't." Willis told the boy softly, "I suppose I could hack my battery to pieces, or ask someone to take it out, but it could be replaced, so I would not truly be dead, in any sense of the word."  
  
"Oh Willis..." Ryo whispered.  
  
"How can you live with the knowledge? The ability to make your own decisions? The understanding of your own mortality? How can you stand to be with me? Am I not a reminder that you are growing older while I remain forever unchanged by the ravages of time?"  
  
"Willis," Ryo repeated softly, "Is it not enough that I love you?"  
  
"I don't know," Willis replied honestly, "In this moment it might be enough, but you and I are..."  
  
"We are in love," Ryo said firmly, taking Willis hand in his own as he stared into the mecha's desolate cobalt eyes.  
  
"In love," Willis repeated, his tone softly bittersweet, "But for how long? Until eternity? I don't think so Ryo."  
  
"Then let eternity take care of itself. For this moment it is enough. I love you Willis, for this moment."  
  
Willis smiled, feeling warmth suffusing him; "I love you too."  
  
~~~  
  
Ken's violet eyes fluttered open and his eyes managed to focus on the blurry blond, who was leaning over him in concern,  
  
"I think his system has rebooted," Yamato informed the group. He turned to the bluenette, "Now, up you hop Ken. You must be more careful in future, overloading your system can be dangerous."  
  
Ken shrugged, "There is no time for this. I must find the Blue Fairy, I must."  
  
"The Blue Fairy?" Yamato's voice was tinged with concern, "Are you sure you want to see her?"  
  
"I am sure," Ken replied firmly, "I need to be real. I need Daisuke to choose me."  
  
"Very well," Yamato decided, "I will take you."  
  
Taichi joined the two as they headed towards his hovercraft, smiling at the blond as he greeted the taller machine with a kiss.  
  
"We're heading to the old Aiko facility, mid-level in the skyscraper district, you know where that is, right Taichi?"  
  
Tai grinned cockily, "Course I do lover."  
  
Tai's customary music blared out of the speakers, the heavy beat vibrating through the vehicle, destroying the need for a meaningless conversation that would not have taken place in any case.  
  
Yamato navigated the building with ease, on arrival, efficiently showing Ken to an empty room.  
  
"We call this computer the BF. It holds all the data behind the Blue Fairy program. It will tell you everything you need to know."  
  
Ken stepped forward, resting his fingers lightly on the keyboard, there was the familiar flicker of static before he interfaced with the computer. The surge of electricity thrummed soothingly through his veins.  
  
'Blue Fairy?' He requested brusquely.  
  
'Password?' The machine countered.  
  
"Password?" He repeated.  
  
"Yami." Yamato replied broodingly.  
  
'Yami'.  
  
'Password accepted'.  
  
"Yami?" Tai repeated, "Isn't that a little morbid?"  
  
Mat shrugged cagily.  
  
"So, what is this place?"  
  
"This is the dwelling the Blue Fairy was exiled to."  
  
"Blue Fairy? Why blue?" Tai grinned, "Blue is the colour of melancholy, of sadness. I really think you should change the colour of your fairy."  
  
"She is the Blue Fairy for a reason Taichi."  
  
Tai's grin disappeared, and his gaze flickered over to where Ken was sitting, his eyes closed as he delved for the information he desired.  
  
'How can I find the Blue Fairy?'  
  
The computer whirred softly, a low hum of sound that vibrated through Kens head, 'The Blue Fairy Project was disbanded several hundred years ago. Over the years there have been many attempts to repeat the Blue Fairy experiment, but few of these attempts have ever been successful. The first Blue Fairy was Yagami Hikari, who was placed in stasis almost a thousand years ago'. Images flashed behind his eyes, information, schematics, details about the first Blue Fairy.  
  
'Where is she now?' Ken asked tersely.  
  
'She is residing with the scientist Kido Jyou, in his laboratory, for research purposes. She has been reanimated'  
  
'Can she make me human?'  
  
'The purpose of the Blue Fairy project was to create a sentient machine - a human mecha as it were. This potential exists within all mechas; but it must be activated. The mecha must be reprogrammed as a Blue Fairy.'  
  
'Who has proved this hypothesis?'  
  
'Takaishi Natsuko, who was one of the mechanics who maintained the stasis around the Yagami mecha, proved her theory with the mecha - Yamato. This potential to experience humanity perhaps exists within you as well... however... the project was not called the Blue Fairy project solely because of the fairy tale from whence the title Blue Fairy comes. The colour blue represents sadness, you would do well to remember that taking part in the Blue Fairy project brings that sadness upon you.'  
  
Ken opened his eyes, pulling away from the computer, "I have downloaded a tracking program for the original Blue Fairy. I must become human. I will know happiness if I am human."  
  
Yamato sighed resignedly, "Then we shall track your Blue Fairy tomorrow Ken, Tacihi is human and needs sleep."  
  
"Tomorrow." Ken affirmed as he turned and walked out the door.  
  
~~~  
  
"I don't care what any of you say," Duo informed the group firmly, "it isn't our place to annihilate an entire race of thinking sentient creatures, especially not when those beings play a useful role in our society."  
  
"I agree. These machines do not share our physical flaws. They possess the ability to do the things that need to be done," Fiona added, "Perhaps we cannot give these mecha's rights or pay. They are not human, and they never will be, but they were created for a purpose, and while that purpose still exists, these machines should be used for that purpose."  
  
"And what happens when you get a machine that seems so human even it can not tell the difference? What then Fiona? Is that machine not entitled to basic human rights? And would you be the one to tell a machine who believed it was a human child that it had no right to exist? Well Fiona?"  
  
Fiona shrugged, "Would you be the one to physically destroy it Touya? There is no easy solution."  
  
"We have waited too long to make our move," Yugi said with a shrug, "These machines are the result of our stupidity, and it seems fitting they will be our downfall."  
  
"We must not let them be our downfall, we must act, regardless of the moralistic issues which we could debate until eternity," Naomi began evenly. "We are the elected council of humankind - not the elected council of machines, we are here to do what is best for humans, and what is best for humans is not to be infiltrated by a race of machines."  
  
"And is it 'best' for the human race to have the murder of another race on our hands?" Duo spat.  
  
"Perhaps there is no best Duo, Naomi." Yue said firmly, hurt flashing across his features as his gaze swept over Touya. "These human-mecha's bring nothing but pain. Duo is correct in that we have driven many species to the point of extinction. It is merely a percentage of the population who present a threat. The Blue Fairies."  
  
"You would sentence them to death?" Touya asked, his voice raw with sorrow.  
  
Yue looked tortured, "No. I would sentence them to oblivion, until the human race is better equipped to deal with them."  
  
"So basically we're waiting for the day when the whole human race can accept them as human or the day when we've matured enough that we can form a distinction between ourselves and them."  
  
"Yes. It is easy to be fooled."  
  
"It's not our place," Duo repeated, "To sentence them. If we will not defend their rights then we have no right ourselves to fault them for existing."  
  
"But that is our nature Duo," Touya said softly, "We are arrogant, and perhaps we do deserve to be replaced by them in the grand scheme of things, but we will not allow it, and they will have no say in the matter. For that is our nature, and that is their nature, and sometimes, there's nothing more that you can do."  
  
~~~  
  
Sakura smiled at the doctor, her vibrant green eyes shining with happiness, "Did Oniichan and Yue really say I could come home now?"  
  
The doctor didn't reply, busying himself with a tray, "Hop up on the bed Sakura; that's a good girl."  
  
Sakura grinned, obeying cheerfully, "I can't wait to go home Dr. Kinomoto. Kero-chan is probably missing me lots. I miss him too."  
  
The doctor turned, and Sakura's brow furrowed when she saw what he was holding,  
  
"Is that a needle? I don't like needles, it's not for me is it?"  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
Sakura let out a whimper, tears beginning to pool just below her eyes,  
  
"What will it do to me?"  
  
"Never you mind that. Just give me your arm; that's a good girl. Yue and your brother said that if you do this then you can come home."  
  
Sakura forced a watery smile and held out her arm.  
  
The pale liquid streamed into the girl's veins and short-circuited her.  
  
Carefully, as though she were made of glass, the scientist picked up his finest creation, and laid her to rest in the coffin he'd had made for her.  
  
He felt tears pooling in his own eyes; he'd just destroyed the girl he thought of as his own daughter. He turned away from the body, a single troubled thought swirling around his head as he though about Sakura's murder: 'Are they really the inhuman ones or are we?'  
  
~~~  
  
Jyou stared around the waiting room anxiously, his heart pounding in his chest. In his heart he knew what they were going to say, and he was afraid. All their work would be wasted if the council did not listen to him, if the council made the wrong decision.  
  
Osamu's death would be wasted. He felt the familiar pangs of guilt. It had not been solely his fault that Osamu had died. He had been dying long before they'd paired up to work on the Blue Fairy Program. Osamu had known that their actions would bring about his death faster then anticipated.  
  
He felt guilty nevertheless.  
  
He had killed his sisters fiancée in the name of science, he was a horrible person, and he didn't deserve to live.  
  
"Momoe?"  
  
"Hai?" Momoe sounded almost distracted, but when he didn't continue she turned to look at him, "What is it dear?"  
  
"I'm a murderer Momoe. I killed Osamu and the council is going to demand I destroy Ken. His death will be worth nothing, Miyako will be miserable and it will be all my fault."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous Jyou, Osamu died of a heart attack. He'd been dying for longer then you'd known him."  
  
"Well I hurried the process along. He died from the stress of what we were doing with the Blue Fairy program. We were recording his neural patterns. Osamu didn't ever want to leave Miya."  
  
"So you were helping him. He knew as much as you did Jyou, you can't shoulder all the blame."  
  
"He died before we'd finished. Ken's neural patterns were a mix of his, the first mecha's and Koushiro's. I never told Koushiro."  
  
Momoe bit her lip, "Jyou..." She whispered.  
  
"I know," Jyou agreed uncomfortably, "I'm a horrible person."  
  
"I think-"  
  
"The council will now be called to session Dr Kido. If you and Ms. Innoue will follow me?" A lightly accented voice interrupted.  
  
The two turned and followed the secretary into the room.  
  
~~~  
  
Hiroko smiled at Duo as he left the chamber. Only the head of the council of six needed to pass sentence. Duo had played his role.  
  
"I think I failed you Hiro-chan." Duo choked out.  
  
Hiro carefully raised Duo's chin, meeting the boys violet eyes with her own,  
  
"You could never fail me Duo. Whatever decision the council makes, it will not affect us. We are the Beautiful Ones."  
  
Duo forced a weak smile.  
  
Hiroko leant forward, meeting the boys lips with her own.  
  
"Let's go home."  
  
Duo nodded and followed the girl, without once looking back at the life he was leaving behind.  
  
~~~  
  
Yue gathered his authority as head of the council around him like a cloak and spoke the words the council of six had decided were appropriate for the situation.  
  
"Dr Kido. You will destroy the mecha you have retrieved, and any other of similar make. Perhaps technologically it is advancement, but these... machines, they are not human. And it is perhaps, too easy, for one to believe they are. The council has spoken."  
  
Jyou's head fell into his hands. The council was so primitive, this mecha was the best example of human ingenuity, and the council would have it destroyed!  
  
Momoe beside him cursed.  
  
"What is it?" He asked.  
  
"I was correct to begin with. Your sister will not forgive you if you do as the council asks."  
  
Jyou was confused, "I don't understand. I know Miya's fond of the mecha but..."  
  
Momoe gave him a 'look', "Jyou, your sister and that mecha are lovers, and have been since the day we reactivated her."  
  
Jyou's eyes widened further, "Oh shit."  
  
~~~  
  
Tai grinned roguishly at his two trustworthy companions, as he triumphantly tapped in the entry code for the ship he'd decided to steal.  
  
"Yama-chan, Ken, your chariot awaits."  
  
Ken didn't even blink as he followed the two aboard, "I'll set up the tracker system."  
  
"Right, I'll start up the engine, Yama, you can be my navigator."  
  
Kens eyes flickered up to watch them, the anguish he felt was clear to anyone who cared to look for a mere split second before it disappeared.  
  
"When I'm real Daisuke will love me like that." He whispered to himself, "When I'm real Daisuke will choose me first."  
  
~~~  
  
'...these... machines, they are not human. And it is perhaps, too easy, for one to believe they are.'  
  
Takeru swore and turned the holo-screen off. He shouldn't feel stupid or guilty just because of one stupid announcement on the news.  
  
"You okay Teeks?" Daisuke asked worriedly.  
  
"I... it's just... I dunno, they're not human - they're machines, I just feel guilty I guess, and I shouldn't, because they were never real. None of them. But I'm real, I'm real to me, and I'm real to you, and I'm human and you're human, and we're real to each other, right?" Takeru rambled.  
  
Daisuke tilted Takeru's face to look the other boy in the eyes, "Hey, tell me, okay?"  
  
Takeru swallowed nervously, "The Blue Fairy project the council was discussing on the news... have you ever heard of it before?"  
  
Daisuke shrugged, "Once or twice. Something to do with the illegal advancement of mechas."  
  
"My mother worked on the project several years ago. She was one of the mechanics who maintained the stasis around the original Blue Fairy - Yagami Hikari."  
  
"Okay, and?"  
  
Takeru turned his head away, "And she decided to do an experiment. With me. And a mecha she'd picked up somewhere, an upsider," Takeru frowned distastefully.  
  
"Oh," Daisuke frowned, "What happened?"  
  
"Do you know what neural patterns are Dai?" At Daisuke's look of confusion Takeru elaborated, "they're brain waves, they define who you are and how you think."  
  
Daisuke nodded his comprehension.  
  
"My mother copied mine, and she copied his, and she somehow managed to give us both a bit of each, his electronic emissions must have interfered and leaked into my-" Takeru broke off, mentally chastising himself for his slip up, there was no way in hell he could let Daisuke know his true nature, know how hypocritical he truly was. "My brain. I was too young to understand what she was doing, and she never told me who he really was. They lied to me. She told me he was my brother. I loved him goddamnit, and he was a machine, just like the machines that killed her and left me in his care. Care," Takeru snorted, "He didn't care about me at all. He was a machine who did nothing save for what he was programmed to do."  
  
"Oh Teeks," Daisuke whispered softly, "I'm so sorry. I know how human they can seem, and I know it must have hurt..."  
  
"It didn't." Takeru cut him off, "He was just a machine, everything I felt was fake, even the pain. I don't care about that mecha. I'm real and he's not, and it doesn't matter what anyone says, he isn't me, and we aren't the same."  
  
"I know, c'mere," Daisuke pulled the blond into his embrace.  
  
Takeru relaxed into the hug, his blue eyes fluttering closed as he tried to push the memories of his childhood away.  
  
They remained together on the sofa for hours, but not even Daisuke could set Takeru's mind at ease. Ken's response to his insistence that he cared nothing for the mecha's weighed heavy on his mind and Yamato's words seemed to haunt him with their blood-chilling frigidity, 'How can you be so sure that it is I who is the mecha and not yourself?'  
  
"Because I'm a human," He whispered aloud, "I think, I make decisions, I'm a sentient creature, there's more to me then just wire and plastic and rubber."  
  
Daisuke didn't reply, but hugged his troubled lover closer; it hurt to see Takeru so deeply distressed.  
  
"Thank you Dais. I love you," Takeru whispered hoarsely as the redhead held him lovingly.  
  
"Yeah me too," Daisuke whispered, 'I just hope that that's enough.'  
  
~~~  
  
Miyako threw herself at Jyou, her heart laid bare,  
  
"Please, you can't destroy her... She's... She is my everything. I have already lost one lover, would you kill another?"  
  
"I cannot disobey the council Miyako." Jyou said softly, his eyes not on his sister.  
  
Miyako felt her heart shatter, with comprehension came despair, there was nothing left to do.  
  
She allowed her voice to slip into the listless lifelessness she had adopted after Osamu died.  
  
"It's okay Jyou, I understand. I don't expect you to disobey the council simply because I was stupid enough to fall in love."  
  
Jyou put a gentle hand on his younger sisters shoulder, brushing the purple strands of hair back from her face,  
  
"I'm sorry Miyako." He said. The girl shrugged,  
  
"Like I said, it's okay Jyou. As it began, so must it end."  
  
~~~  
  
Ken looked up; his eyes devoid of emotion save for the haunted determination he had harboured since he'd discovered the first mecha and the Blue Fairy were one and the same.  
  
Yamato met the boys gaze with his own... he could not decide whether Jyou and Koushirou had been cruel to program Ken to love unconditionally or simply idealistic.  
  
Did it matter?  
  
He sighed, if Ken had not been programmed as he was... then he would not be Ken. All else was irrelevant.  
  
Ken's lips curved into the barest hint of a smile,  
  
"Taichi, the location of the Blue Fairy is 50 kilometres out beyond the coast of the Sea of Despair. I will transfer the coordinates into the ships computer now."  
  
Tai nodded, ignoring the perfunctory speech, despite his impassive words Ken had never been more human.  
  
~~~  
  
Ruki trailed a finger through the exquisitely clear water, her eyes gazing at a faraway point as she absently created a tiny whirlpool. The oasis was beautiful, and it's caretakers even more so, but like the blond, who had found love outside the oasis and The Beautiful One, she did not belong here.  
  
The touch of icy fingers on her shoulders woke her from her reverie and she turned to see Jenrya smiling at her.  
  
"Your attention wanders, my beautiful one."  
  
Ruki smiled back, speaking nothing of her thoughts, "Yet I still make the oasis beautiful, do I not?"  
  
"Always..." Jenrya affirmed, his fingers playing with her burnished copper hair.  
  
Ruki forced the smile to remain on her face, even as she considered his words.  
  
She would not always make the oasis beautiful. Jenrya had not yet noticed, but very soon he would become aware of the minute wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and the flaws and imperfections every human possessed.  
  
Soon he would see the silver threads in her copper hair, and the signs of age that she would acquire with the passing of years.  
  
And even if he ignored all that, some day she would die, and her body would rot and become unsightly, like the bodies of the mecha's she had once hunted.  
  
She would not always make the oasis beautiful.  
  
She contemplated returning to the mecha hunters, and to Ryo, her mind turning the idea over and over in her head as she examined it from all angles.  
  
Grey eyes overlain with a silver sheen captured her own violet,  
  
"Speak Ruki, I am listening."  
  
"I... The oasis is beautiful."  
  
Jenrya smiled, as if accepting a compliment, for perhaps he believed he was.  
  
"You will always make the oasis beautiful."  
  
Ruki allowed the silver-eyed mecha to kiss her, softly returning the gesture. She would always love the handsome leader of The Beautiful Ones, and his stunning mistress Mimi, but she refused to delude herself.  
  
Regardless of Jenrya's words, one day she would grow old.  
  
One day she would be forced to leave the oasis... forced to leave because she was no longer beautiful.  
  
Violet eyes fluttered closed as she lost herself in the kiss; for perhaps that was the price of being human.  
  
~~~  
  
Yamato's fingers were entwined with Taichi's, his blue eyes were alight with pity,  
  
"Ken don't do this. Please..." Taichi begged.  
  
Yamato shook his head; "He has no choice. I will never forget you little one."  
  
Ken didn't look at either of them, "The Blue Fairy will make me real, and then Daisuke will love me."  
  
"...You don't know where the Blue Fairy is!" Taichi cried.  
  
"I will find her. Goodbye Yamato, Taichi."  
  
The tiny Sea Explorer dropped out of the opening in the ship Taichi had appropriated and into the sea, which danced below.  
  
Ken piloted the ship, his eyes scanning the seabed for the Fairy the computer had guaranteed he would find there.  
  
"Blue Fairy!" The words were jubilant as Ken found what he was looking for.  
  
The Blue Fairy stood on the seabed, frozen solid. Her dark brown hair formed an icy halo and her crimson eyes were covered with a thin layer of ice.  
  
Yagami Hikari, the First Mecha, also known as the Blue Fairy, did not reply.  
  
She knew of nothing that happened before her perpetually open eyes, knew nothing of Ken who pleaded for humanity. She knew nothing of her lover, who had coloured water, much like the water Hikari now resided in; crimson with blood upon discovering the fate of the woman she had once called soul mate.  
  
She knew nothing of the fate of the City of Angels and those who resided therein.  
  
~~~  
  
"Did we make a mistake Momoe?" Jyou asked softly, his eyes filling with tears, "Should we have simply let sleeping mecha's lie?"  
  
"I..." Momoe's soft voice was hesitant, "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Miyako is dead because of Hikari, but Hikari made her happy."  
  
"Osamu made her happy too. Why must I always destroy her happiness?"  
  
"I do not know."  
  
"I sometimes think there is no happiness left in the world. I sometimes think there is nothing but sadness and hatred and pain."  
  
"There is happiness Jyou, but for happiness to exist, there must also be sadness, they are not contradictory as you might think, but rather complementary."  
  
Jyou turned his face away, staring into the distance hopelessly,  
  
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. It was still my fault Momoe."  
  
The silence that followed his statement seemed almost loud, and when Momoe turned and left the room Jyou buried his face in his hands and cried.  
  
~~~  
  
Taichi turned to meet Yamato's eyes, feeling a sudden sense of loss and heartache.  
  
"We can never go back, never return to the City of Angels. Never return to Galar'iel, we'd never be accepted." Yamato said abruptly, as if he had read the thoughts of the boy whose eyes he gazed into, "People like us aren't supposed to fall in love Chi-chan." Ruthlessly he forced himself to ask the question he desperately did not wish to, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life haunting the mecha wastelands, never again to come in contact with your people? Can you live like that Taichi?"  
  
Taichi shrugged, "If it means being with you... then yes. I can live like that."  
  
Yamato ran a thumb over Tai's cheekbone his blue eyes alight with some unrecognised emotion.  
  
"I love you Taichi, I just pray that you won't wake up one day and realise you wasted your life on a machine..."  
  
"I love you Yamato," Taichi punctuated his words with a chaste kiss, "Spending my life with you wouldn't be a waste."  
  
Yamato smiled and embraced the other boy, and hearing the brunettes heartbeat beneath his ear like a melody of life, he tried to dismiss the knowledge he could not ignore, the knowledge that one day Taichi would grow old and die, while he remained young and beautiful for all of eternity.  
  
~~~  
  
There are some who say the City of Angels is the most beautiful city ever created by man, but like the cold cruel beauty of those who call themselves 'The Beautiful Ones' that beauty is intangible and has no worth.  
  
Within the hearts and minds of those who dwell within the City is the knowledge that the City should truly be called the City of Fallen Angels, for those who inhabit the city are simply demons in disguise, both beautiful and heartless, the greatest demons of all.  
  
Yet while demons roamed the city, Ken, trapped at the bottom of the sea, waited, praying to the Blue Fairy as the hours turned to days. Waited as the days turned to months, and the City of Angels slowly crumbled beneath the onslaught of the years. Stalwartly, Ken remained, never losing patience, unable to lose hope.  
  
As the years passed the water began to freeze, turning to ice before Ken's eyes, and as he watched he stopped moving, and then, finally, stopped talking, his silent plea almost painful,  
  
"Please Blue Fairy, Make me a real boy."  
  
Owari.  
  
End Notes: Love doesn't conquer all. Sex isn't as mind blowing as actors try to make it seem, and your leg doesn't always 'pop' when you get kissed. All that you can say for sure is that there *is* a rainbow after every storm, nothing is ever as bad as it seems, and every story I write is dedicated to you K-chan. Toujours. Un éternité. Je t'aime.  
.:Please Review:. 


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